PCB cancels four-nation one-day tournament

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Monday announced the cancellation of the quadrangular one-day tournament which was to be jointly held with India sometime in March next year.

Besides the two traditional rivals, Zimbabwe and the West Indies were to be other participating teams. Both the countries were to host five matches each with the final slated in Pakistan.

"The tournament stands cancelled after India announced the itinerary of Zimbabwe's tour that includes Tests and one-day internationals. In other words, they have announced their decision without announcing," director of the PCB Brig Munawar Rana said from Lahore.

He added: "We had withheld the itinerary of West Indies tour just because we wanted to accommodate the four-nation cup."

The PCB official was also diplomatic when asked if Pakistan would play India in a proposal tri-nation one-day tournament in Bangladesh in December.

"The three teams were scheduled to play in Dhaka prior to the existing situation. Now Bangladesh have to come back to us and inform which are the three teams in the competition," he said.

When asked candidly if Pakistan would play in Dhaka if India agreed to participate, Rana said: "We will cross the bridge when it comes."

The cricketing relations between the two countries touched its lowest ebb last month when New Delhi disallowed permission to its team to participate in the Asian Test Championship, chiefly because its team was scheduled to play Pakistan in the league match at Lahore.

Ironically, New Delhi's U-turn came after it said it had no objection against its team playing Pakistan anywhere in multinational tournaments. The Indian cricket board chief A.C Muthiah had submitted government's approval to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) when it met in May in Lahore.

India had also refused to cross borders earlier this year for a scheduled three-Test and as many one-day internationals. The cancellation of the series resulted in an estimated $15million loss to the PCB.

Like the Asian Test Championship, India had proposed to host the quadrangular tournament in partnership with Pakistan. The proposal was feasible as West Indies and Zimbabwe would be in the subcontinent next year in February-March.

"I don't think there is any need for Pakistan to communicate the cancellation of the tournament to India. The tournament was under cloud after last month's development. But now things have started to fall in place and India's position is now more of less clear," Rana said.

The officials of the two countries are likely to sit across the table when the International Cricket Council (ICC) and ACC meetings are held in Lahore next month.

Uma Bharti, the Indian sports minister, claims that there would be no cricket between the two countries until political tension eases out. Pakistan have made desperate attempts to defuse the tension only to be let down by the politicians across the border.

Pakistan last played India in Asia Cup one-day tournament in Dhaka under Moin Khan's captaincy. Moin's team won the competition. The two countries last clashed in a Test at Kolkata in the inaugural Asian Test Championship in which Pakistan emerged winners under the leadership of Wasim Akram.

The official said the PCB decided not to g-ahead with the tournament after an inhouse meeting in which the entire situation was analyzed in detail. He said the PCB will not be contacting its Zimbabwean counterparts to send its team to Pakistan for a triangular oneday tournament.

"We will not stick to the three Tests and as many one-day internationals against the West Indies between first week of February till second week of March.

"The West Indies have request not to over-stretch their tour because of their own domestic commitments. Since they have been kind enough to confirm the tour recently, we have to be accommodative," Rana said.

The West Indies are scheduled to host India immediately after returning from Pakistan.