Tourists duck out of Bombay- Pakistan report from the Cricketer International (16 January 1999)

16 January 1999

Tourists duck out of Bombay- Pakistan report from the Cricketer International

Cricketer International

After many a hiccup, Pakistan's tour of India was finally confirmed by the Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman, Khalid Mahmood, and chief executive Majid Khan after a meeting with their Indian counterparts in New Delhi in December.

The Indian cricket establishment was clearly told that in drawing up the tour itinerary, Maharashtra should not be included. This implies that Mumbai will not stage any match during the tour, an extreme step taken because of repeated threats from Shiv Sena, the militant Hindu party, to disrupt the tour.

'We cannot take the risk of playing there in face of increasing threats from Hindu extremists,' Majid said on his return. The Indian Board also provided assurance that the Pakistan players would be afforded complete security during the two-month tour.

Perhaps the most significant outcome of the meeting was the decision to launch the Asian Test Championship towards the end of the tour. According to this agreement, after playing the first two Tests of the series, the Third Test at Eden Gardens in Calcutta would be regarded as the start of the Championship. Majid feels that the entire cricket world will follow with interest the inaugural Asian Test Championship, and that it would act as a forerunner for a world Test championship.

In a league based on points for outright wins or first-innings leads, each will play the others once in a round robin format, with the top two contesting a final in Dhaka, Bangla-desh. This will be the first Test held on neutral territory since 1912, when Australia and South Africa played three Tests in England.

MujeeB ur Rehman, an executive of the leading Pakistani commercial concern REDCO and the younger brother of Said ur Rehman, a highly influential Senator in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government, has been tipped to succeed Majid Khan as the PCB's chief executive.

While confirming this move, Mujeeb informed a group of journalists that 'since there was no cohesion and unity among the top brass of the PCB at present, it is inappropriate to take over the responsibility. I know my name has been forwarded to president Rafiq Ahmad Tarar for the job of chief executive, but I am not interested in taking over under these circumstances'.

Hanif Mohammad was appointed technical advisor to the PCB at the end of last year to help with the preparation of pitches. Initially he supervised the series against Zimbabwe but his tenure is likely to be extended in spite of the series defeat.

Poor pitch preparation was widely considered to be one cause of the defeat in the home series against Australia, as uncertainty about the character of the surfaces caused the team selections to be unbalanced.

The Board has also hired the former Test paceman Sarfraz Nawaz to run a training camp in Rawalpindi exclusively for fast bowlers. The majority of the pace attack who toured New Zealand with Pakistan A have joined the camp. A specialist in physical fitness is assisting Sarfraz with the programme.

A Karachi club player, Ifthikar Ahmad, died shortly after being hit in the neck in a club tournament in Hyderabad. Ifthikar, playing for Nazima-bad Gymkhana in the fifth All Sind Sikandar memorial tournament, was hit trying to hook Ali Jafri.

He collapsed on the pitch but when he was taken to the nearby Kotri Hospital, no doctor was available. He was rushed to the Civic Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. It is thought that immediate medical help might have saved his life.