Sport and the Sub-Continent: A Happy Mix?

Is it really worth trying to play sport on the sub-continent any more? The risks associated with touring have apparently grown to the point where security cannot be guaranteed for anyone wanting to come and play cricket.

So why bother? If a sport that takes on a quasi-religious status is at risk, what hope do other sports have?.

The atrocity that occurred in Lahore a few weeks ago was just the culmination of years of threats and close calls in the region that have, in effect, led to a de-facto boycott by Australia and later joined by England, New Zealand and South Africa.

Admittedly, the violence had previously been restricted to Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but it’s spreading. New Zealand has had a dreadful run in Sri Lanka with three tours being affected by terrorism. South Africa cancelled a tour of the island nation for the same reason.

The 2008 Champions Trophy, scheduled for Pakistan was cancelled over terrorist fears, fears that were vindicated after the attack on the Sri Lankan team and international umpires. Despite the protestations that Pakistani’s love their cricket too much to attack the sport directly, it now appears that nothing is sacred.

And now the IPL is being farmed out—presumably to the highest bidder—because the security of the players cannot be guaranteed in the midst of Indian elections. It does beg the question “why the hell not?” Surely India is big enough to concentrate on two things at once.

For better of worse, the IPL is uniquely Indian—that’s not a criticism—and it’s difficult to imagine it having the same feel in South Africa or the UK. The BCCI has so much invested in the IPL that it is difficult to see a set of circumstances that would see them relinquish control, even if they don’t lose any money out of it.

We all know that it’s the TV ratings that count most of all, but it’s like running the Indianapolis 500 in Berlin; it might look the same on television, but we’d all know that it was fiction.

Not that traditionalists mind either way. To those who love the game, myself included, Twenty20 is an abomination and the IPL is a hedonistic celebration of this bastard child of one-day cricket. It would bring us great joy to see it fail altogether. Not that it will happen, but we live in hope.

There is, however, a much larger problem looming on the horizon. If the security of the IPL can’t be looked after, what on Earth is going to happen when the festival of mediocrity that is the Commonwealth Games hits town?

Here is a carnival that brings together athletes from all around the globe, from nations who don’t necessarily like each other, so the security implications compared to the IPL are real and terrifying. Prepare to hear a lot more about it over the next 12 months.

Maybe Melbourne should blow the dust off the stadiums from 2006, they might just be needed at short notice in October 2010.