The efforts of PCB to rally around the support from the Asian cricketing fraternity to support its cause for World Cup 2011 does not seem to have paid off? But who is to blame. The responsibility lies at the doorstep of the PCB whose officials failed to develop friendly relations with the officials of other boards and for creating a favorable lobby among other members of the ICC.
There is also a perception that the other three countries did not take much interest to advocate the cause of Pakistan on account of the sheer fact that they would be getting tremendous financial benefit by isolating Pakistan. PCB officials feel that India had played the role of a big brother, but a big brother who was not benevolent.
Pakistan was hoping that at least the matches that were initially allocated to it could be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) or swapping of World Cup 2011 with the event earmarked for staging in Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
Officials at the PCB feel that the ICC has handled the whole issue in a very inept manner. The grievance emanates from the fact that the matter should have been discussed in the ‘full meeting’ of the ICC and not the executive board’s meeting which even did not carry the item on its agenda.
Now it is more of a slugfest between the ICC and the PCB. In the interest of justice, equity and fair-play, the PCB desires that Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) step into and provide an amicable solution to the whole imbroglio rather than leaving it to committee of cricket’s world governing body.
ICC has not taken it kindly, and there is a perception in the PCB that with tacit support from ICC has rejected the PCB’s legal challenge against its decision to move the 2011 World Cup matches out of the country.
