Well the all too familiar battle rages between the ICC and member boards such as CA, NZC,ECB and thier player associations over the Champions Trophy scheduled to be staged in Pakistan. There are doubts in the players minds about the viability of security arrangements in a politically unstable and volatile environment currently existing in Pakistan. Also adding fuel to the fire is news sources hinting that the players could be targetted by terrorist outfits, which brings us to the original question, Is Pakistan unsafe to tour?

Well, my answer would be a BIG thumbs up to the ICC for insisting that the CT be held in Pakistan. I dont care if the ICC's stand is heavily influenced by the BCCI or not. My reasoning is fairly simple and I have seen enough of the Asia Cup to conclude that the security arrangements are more than adequate. I dont think I have seen any other tournament being conducted with as much military presence, at times the security personnel maybe even out numbering the spectators during the inconsequencial matches.

I understand that there is a lot of political instability in the country, with the Taliban gaining a lot of ground in the areas bordering Afghanistan, bombs going off in the major cities in the country and a variety of other untoward incidents which is really playing on the minds of all the players. I guess people do have to understand that more or less similar conditions exist all over the sub-continent. In India, there were bomb blasts recently in Bangalore(where Australia is scheduled to play their 1st test match in Nov.), Ahmedabad(where England are scheduled to play thier 2nd test in Dec). Unexploded bombs were found in Surat,which along with Ahmedabad is incidentally are located in the state of Gujarat, where the England team is expected to spend a lot of time this winter, also playing an ODI match in Rajkot and a 3 day warm up match in Baroda. Srilanka also is on the verge of a civil war with the constant battles against the LTTE, Bangladesh isn't a very peaceful place either!!!.

I dont see how players can be very comfortable touring India and so jittery when it comes to touring Pakistan. Its amazing how Warne, Smith, Watson etc where not too flustered when bombs went off in Jaipur during the IPL, when they were playing for the Jaipur based franchise Rajasthan Royals. I think cricket as a game finds itself at the cross-roads in Pakistan, I think the interest in the game will certainly take a nose dive if the Pakistanis believe they cannot host an international tournament or convince other nations to tour the country. I think the CT and other international tours are vital to the development and I would say 'revival' of cricket in this country.

Frankly speaking, I'm not sure if the country is as dangerous as it is projected to be, but one thing I can be sure about is the Pakistan government is more than capable of providing security to the players in thier hotels and while they are practing or playing matches in the stadia, specifically in Lahore and Karachi which are the only two venues now. I would think the players have a moral obligation to go to Pakistan and entertain the quality cricket deprived crowd, specially when the ICC has assessed the security situation and fully knows the repercussions of any untoward incident.I would also imagine that it might be too late to shift the venue at this stage and Srilanka might not be the best alternative either.

Well the situation would be clearer in the days to come and hope that the players and their respective boards take the right decision in the better interests of the game.

To go!

I look at it this way. Wasn't there a chance of a bomb going off in Beijing for the Olympics? Of course there's always a chance, so should they not have been held at all because there was a chance of something happening? In fact, isn't there a risk of terrorists attacking sports venues anywhere in the world? The relevations that have surfaced about the 2005 Ashes suggest to me that the answer is "yes." So a refusal of touring anywhere just because something could happen is just giving in to fear.

And another thing. If we don't go, won't we just be letting the terrorists win? I think so, because anyhting they do that forces us to change our lives or arrangements, even in the smallest way, counts as a victory for them. We shouldn't be intimidated out of going by a pack of savages with an inferiority complex.