Tariq Mohammed and Ashfaq Ahmed, who were members of the Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami (Islamic Holy War Movement), a Kashmiri separatist organisation which draws inspiration from Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, during the course of their trial in an Indian court informed that they had planned to kidnap two of the brightest cricketers of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.

The terrorist duo informed the detectives that they had trained in Afghanistan and entered India from Bangladesh on a mission to kidnap the two cricket stars to force the release of two terrorist leaders being held in Indian jails.

It however needs to be put in perspective. These confessions were made in 2002, but in view of the recent terrorist attacks on Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, they have sent a chill through the Indian cricket establishment. The feeling of fear in the Indian cricket establishment could emanate from the fact that a new batch of terrorists could have been let loose to attain this objective.

The details of the plot popped up after a decision was taken by the Indian Premier League to drop Delhi and Jaipur as host venues for the forthcoming Twenty-20 cricket tournament, amid fears that terrorists might attack key matches or abduct top cricket stars.

Indian Home Minister, P Chidambaram, has already expressed his apprehensions whether the tournament could be set into motion at all. There is a definite concern among the officials associated with the security in India that as the IPL is coinciding with the Indian general election, the country's security forces and police will be dangerously overstretched if they have to protect both events.
 
Even the security officials from Britain and America have voiced concerns that another terrorist attack in the run-up to the election could cause a new war between India and Pakistan.

Keeping in view the threat perception, Indian Premier League's fixture for the second season has dropped Delhi and Jaipur from the list of venues, and shifted key matches to Dharamsala, the Himalayan hill town which has been the abode of the Dalai Lama, after he ran away from Tibet along with his followers in early 1960s.

Now the itinerary has been drawn in such a manner that it would not coincide with polling in each area, where the matches would be played. A senior IPL official expressed the hope that now the matches could be held in a smooth manner.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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