The general perception is that India now is facing a plight not unlike Pakistan in that it stands uncertain of how it being viewed (not through just lip service) but in terms of security concerns and the ECB’s decision as also the strength of the England team, should they decide to tour, will also have a tremendous say on what they think of the changed circumstances from last week.
While the decision, if taken negatively, would perhaps cause a few flutters in its implications for the future, one must understand that the whole of Mumbai felt the deep sinking of its heart by what happened. These men leave the comforts of their home and stay in the hotels such as the Taj and the Oberoi and to see them in siege and raging in fire under the terrorist attack would have been a very distressing site.
That England consider Mumbai and the Taj their home is evident from the fact that they actually left their Test kits behind even though they were not scheduled for a month later. Does that not say something for how safe they felt, how at ease they felt with Mumbai?
So, in the immediate aftermath, none can fault members of the England team to feel uneasy about the prospect about coming back to play in India. The nightmares, the images will have barely sunk in. Perhaps it would have been wiser had they simply stayed back in the country (and Geoff Lawson makes a valid point but keeping that aside) because the city they were in was not under direct attack and being away from the place under siege would have given them the perspective of life went unhindered in other parts of the country, even the city of Mumbai where only the south was facing the brunt as the suburbs watched in shock but were forced to get back into routine for want of a ‘valid’ reason other than wanting to share and be a part of the happenings in their own city and feeling traumatized by it.
But coming from a different part of the world, their sentiments were understandable. There were voices of dissensions from the likes of Ian Botham, David Gower and Mike Atherton. But there are a rare, few times when a collective decision is impossible and unethical to make. Who takes responsibility for players who are touring? Who is providing the assurances back home that in the God forbid event of a similar circumstance, their lives will be especially protected or in the event of an even more tragic mishap, their families will be taken care of?
This is not in defense of the England players. These are questions that could be easily turned around and asked by another cricketer from the Indian sub continent. After all London is no stranger to terrorist attacks. But how often have there been teams that have expressed reluctance to tour there as opposed to the sub continent? These are now being considered occupational hazards by the rest of the hardworking folk and the argument is also being made, why do cricketers need to be the exception? Perhaps the better argument would be: why must any such deviant attack on society be allowed to grow into an occupational hazard? But this would not be the place to get into it.
The ECB may well continue the tour in a manner of keeping commitment. But the reason to explain their non committal attitude to suggest whether or not the England team is actually catching a flight to India on Thursday or Friday is perhaps because they have left the door open for players to walk out and are unsure themselves at this point, how many of their main line of players will make up the squad so as not to let the team look like a namesake one obliged to meet its commitments.
What is clear, however, is that choosing not to tour India is not an easy decision for any of the board members or even the ICC because India’s situation is perceptibly different from Pakistan’s in that, India occupies the stronghold of cricket’s financial strength. This attack on the financial capital of the country jolted all sections of society and industry. So, if they can bounce back, there is no reason to believe why cricket cannot or cricket relations cannot. There will be a time gap and rebuilding process, but surely to think that this could be a long term, dark proposition of days like Pakistan is unimaginable even as the images of the attack refuse to fade away.
After all, if life does go on, and it must then, we must all get back to our livelihood and the thought is not lost on the cricketers, who are battling between giving in to their fears and in the process, fear losing their place in the side.
read more as the debates rage:
Mumbai Aftermath: Cricket Must Go on
