Comebacks, moneybags and visa problems

The News has reported that Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan are set to make a comeback into the Pakistan team. They have reported that Wasim Bari, Pakistan's chief selector, along with Iqbal Qasim and Ehteshamuddin, his fellow selectors, made a visit to the training camp at Lahore recently, where they watched the players practice and finalised a shortlist of players. They quoted a source as saying that they consulted Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq, coach and captain respectively, and decided that Afridi and Younis would be in their playing XI.

This is not particularly pleasing news for India. Pakistan have, in recent times, boasted a highly inexperienced line-up, with players like Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed batting before the experienced Inzamam and Yousuf Youhana. While Younis brings an element of stability to the middle order, Afridi brings a lot of panache, and can bowl some handy legspin, too.

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In the subcontinent, cricket and commerce go hand in hand. The Financial Express reports that Samsung Electronics will spend as much as Rs 60 crore (US$10.3 million) on the India-Pakistan series, of which it is the sponsor. Besides the Rs 20 crore it is shelling out for the title sponsorship, the budget will cover electronic and print advertising, as well as sponsorship rights on Ten Sports, the official broadcasters of the series.

The Economic Times, meanwhile, has reported that television advertising rates have touched heights never before seen in the history of cricket broadcasting. A ten-second slot, they say, is going for Rs 5 lakhs (US$11,000), which is more than four times the going rate for the World Cup last year. Apparently, the rates jumped 10 to 20% after Doordarshan, India's state broadcaster, failed to secure simultaneous telecast rights from Ten Sports.

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India cricket fans who have purchased tickets for the India-Pakistan series online are having trouble getting their visas, according to the BBC. Fans queued outside Pakistan's High Commission in New Delhi on March 3, the date when the process of taking visa applications and handing out visas was due to begin. But while applications were duly accepted, no visas were handed out, which made many of the applicants queueing outside rather restless.

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Bombay Times, the Mumbai supplement of The Times of India, carried a story on Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra headlined "Single brigade discos in Mumbai". It reported that "India's most eligible bachelors" were in "a mood for masti [uninhibited fun]", and that they were partying at Zaheer's "den in the suburbs". Harbhajan sang a song for the newspaper, and then quipped, "this song is for Preity [Zinta, Indian actress with famous dimples]. She is so cute."

"We party hard when we win," Zaheer said. "You have to see us dancing then." And who would they dance with in Pakistan? Clearly nubile Pakistani lasses, about whom Nehra said, "Heard they're very pretty, but will we get to see them?" Zaheer wasn't too worried about that. "We'll carry binoculars and steal glimpses," he said.

Harbhajan, who will miss the tour due to injury, then requested Zaheer, "Besides taking wickets, get me a pair of Peshwari Juti [shoes from Peshawar]. And a beautiful girl for yourself. You're the John Abraham [Indian model and actor] of our team."

And to think all talk of the tour so far has focussed on the cricket, the security and the politics. What about the parties?

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Some of the younger players in the team are not as worried about parties as they are about ... exams. India Abroad New Service, a news agency, reports that Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan will be missing their 12th standard board exams. Patel will be missing his exams for the third time, while it will be Irfan's second miss. Both their fathers said that while exams were no doubt important, cricket had to be given the priority at this stage in their careers.

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Wasim Akram has said that India and Pakistan have a "50-50 chance" of winning the one-day and Test series. Speaking to The Daily Nation, he said, "If India has a good batting line-up Pakistan is stronger in bowling."

Akram had just finished giving a talk to the probables at the training camp at Lahore, and spoke to reporters there after the session about what had transpired. "I cannot remove every flaw in every player in just one session," he said. "I told them how they can handle the pressure of the series. I have just advised them that instead of taking the series to their head just observe the pressure, relax and enjoy the cricket. I have tried to share my experience of handling pressure under such circumstances, something that I had learnt from Imran Khan and Javed Miandad."

Akram continued: "I have noticed that all the players are in good shape and working very hard in the nets. My message to them was to relax and work hard. Forget about the results and give your 100%, play positive and competitive cricket."

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John Wright, speaking to The Indian Express, said that the tour to Pakistan would be a learning experience for him. "The cricketing intensity will be very high," he said. "I experienced a bit of it [India playing Pakistan] at the Centurion Park [in the 2003 World Cup]. But to be with the Indian team in Pakistan will be quite an experience."

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Ranjan Madugalle has been appointed the match referee for the India-Pakistan series, reports Reuters. Madugalle had officiated in three one-day internationals between India and Pakistan in September 1997, and had calmly controlled a volatile situation in the first one-dayer in Karachi, when the Indian team walked off the field because of objects thrown by the crowd.

Simon Taufel and David Shepherd have been named as the international umpires for the one-day series, with Asad Rauf and Nadeem Ghouri being the local umpires.