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Best of luck for
the subcontinent for CWC 2011! |
A Feature by Syed Ahsan Ali
on June 21, 2007
All the four Boards of Pakistan, India,
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh met at Bhurban
near Islamabad in their first meeting
discussing the organizing of the 2011
World Cup. They came up with a statement
that they will make the 2011 event a far
more crowd-friendly by keeping the
prices low of the tickets. It is really
heartening to know that the ICC along
with others are trying to make
rectifications in its formerly inept
attitude during the World Cup 2007 which
forced even the frenzied Caribbean
people to stay away from the grounds. It
is a good promise if they keep it.
Everyone wants to enjoy cricket in
peaceful and economical way.
But there they have one big problem
which is not difficult to foresee at
all. Growing stakes of terrorism in the
region and growing concern of the
authorities who are fighting the war on
terror. These are the two factors which
cannot be denied at all. Living in
Karachi, I know that how they staged
peaceful cricket in the city after New
Zealand’s excuse from playing in the
city after a bomb explosion in the hotel
parking lot. It is never been easy at
all. And playing in Peshawar and the
northern regions is still a big scare
for foreign teams. Hopefully, it will
not happen but forfeitures from playing
at certain stations from certain teams
can easily make its place. Sri Lanka is
also not safe from the same threats and
playing there will raise few eyebrows as
well.
In Karachi, keeping the prices high of
the tickets is one usual practice that
we see after the 2001 incident because
by doing that they shunned away all who
want to join the party. Keeping the
prices high restrict lower income
bracket to come to the ground. Another
scheme of things is non-availability of
tickets at all outlets. Tickets usually
stay in the safe of certain hands which
they sell at higher prices or distribute
among their relatives and close friends.
Through this practice, they allow very
small group of people to reach out for
tickets. Banking staff where tickets
usually sold out is the most privileged
clique of persons who do whatever they
want to do with the tickets.
Then the whole security issue imposed
certain steps which included parkings
well outside the stadiums, long queues
to enter into the grounds, helicopters
flying all over the city, announcement
of local holiday to keep people at their
homes are usual practices whenever
Karachi has been chosen as a venue for
an international match. If they do these
kinds of things at certain centers to
stage a peaceful match then who will
dare to reach out and be a part of huge
crowd.
At least in Pakistan, keeping higher
ticket pricing is one mode of keeping
poor people from coming to the grounds.
Bigger the crowd, bigger will be the
dangers to disrupt the proceedings. If
they keep the prices low which is highly
unlikely then security concerns will
tease crowds for pleasant and peaceful
match-watching.
Similar will be the fate of certain
encounters in Sri Lanka as well. Bomb
explosions are not new to that territory
and reaction of foreign teams we all
know at such happenings. India has also
suffered badly in this wave of terrorism
over the years. All the four boards may
try to keep it crowd friendly but the
conditions and circumstances in the
region will make it a hassle for
organizing authorities across the
sub-continent. I wish best of luck to
all of those who are dreaming for an
entertaining World Cup 2011.
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