Cricket – A casualty of geopolitics

Whenever a crime is committed, one immediately searches for a reason. For the most part, the initial stage of crime investigation is to first identify those benefiting from the criminal act. In the case of a murder, for instance, the investigators always endeavor to ascertain the primary beneficiary of the murder, a golden rule of thumb which helps the investigators in their probe and leads them to nab the murderer as well as his accomplices in the long run.

In the same vein, we can take a leaf out of the investigation rule book to track down the elements lurking behind the recent cancellation of the cricket tour by New Zealand. After the unilateral and uncalled for decision by the New Zealand team to abandon the tour in Pakistan all of a sudden, it was most likely that the English cricket team would also follow suit.

However, the way the New Zealand team abandoned the tour on vague security reasons, it became obvious to a plain understanding that it was not just a matter of cricket, but there was something else taking place behind the scene.

It goes without saying that there is only one country in the world adamant to sabotage cricket in Pakistan and is making every effort covertly and overtly to isolate Pakistan in the comity of nations. In the given scenario, the New Zealand cricket team was merely a pawn in the scheme of things as it merely carried out the directives, which were issued from New Delhi and conveyed via London.

It is in this backdrop that one must appreciate the swift work carried out by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies that took no time exposing the sinister plot hatched by India. Going through the details, it was quite evident that the Indians tried to emulate the Israeli intelligence machinery by employing sophisticated technology to carry out its secret operations in any part of the world. However, India lacked precision and fell flat on its face in the course of covertly but smartly waging the fifth-generation war against Pakistan as India's role in sabotaging the Pakistan-New Zealand series has widely been exposed.

It should be clear that the abrupt tour cancellation by New Zealand was not a good move for them either, since they had toured Bangladesh for a short series and then came to Pakistan for a series of T20 and One Day Internationals. The Black Caps spent about a week in Pakistan under strict Covid SOPs in place, travelled daily from their hotel to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for practice and training sessions and were all set to play the first ODI on September 18. On this account, the prevailing situation in Afghanistan has had nothing to do with the security in the region, particularly the neighboring Pakistan.

It would be pertinent to mention here that the Black Caps enjoy enviable cricket relations with the PCB and the Kiwi side is equally popular in Pakistan as well. Earlier this year, Pakistan had done a favour by touring New Zealand during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic and it was time for the Kiwis to reciprocate the favour.

The same goes for the English cricket team too, gaining nothing from the cancellation of their tour to Pakistan. Someone may argue that the geopolitics has its inevitable role in the entire episode, particularly in the case of England. Most importantly, the press statement issued by the England & Wales Cricket Board made for a sorry reading. If for no other reason, it was a classic piece of communication in terms of conveying lame and unconvincing excuses chiefly fabricated to wriggle out of a tight corner.

Prone to inflict injury on Pakistan, India has had a lot to gain from the cancellation of international cricket in Pakistan. New Delhi wanted to embarrass its neighbor and in some weird way it wanted to avenge the loss it faced in Afghanistan where its entre terror network was just wiped out as soon as the Taliban took over. The moment the Black Caps packed their bags and took off the Islamabad airport, some planners in New Delhi and RAW headquarters must have raised a toast and congratulated themselves for the abandonment of cricket tours in Pakistan. However, it is Pakistan and its intelligence network that has emerged victorious, inflicting a crushing blow to India’s nefarious designs in Afghanistan.