Boycott Welcome

India’s decision to boycott Sharjah 1992 is most welcome. In Sharjah, the true glorious spirit of the game is absent. The organizers are interested only in two things: a) Making money and b) Ensuring that Pakistan wins. India has no business to be the sacrificial lamb year after year.

Sharjah, in the end proves to be a morale shatterer for the Indians. In Sharjah 1991, an excellent all-round display by the Indians ensured that we won the first three matches, but thanks to some shocking umpiring, it al came to naught in the end. In the fourth match the Indians lost under questionable light while the final really took the cake. Aquib Javed got an outrageous hat trick of LBWs making him give the greatest ever bowling performance in the history of one-day cricket. All three decisions were given when the batsman had run half way through for making a run. In a game, where even one vital wicket can change the tide of the match, handing three on a silver platter is just too much.

Also, rather than stopping playing with Pakistan, India should stop playing in Pakistan. When the Pakistani players come here, they get VIP treatment, though the converse is not true. Some time back an Indian cricket captain’s shirt was torn and in the same season, the Indian hockey captain was chased by an angry mob. Is this how captains are treated? Also, in the same season, the Indian flag was burnt. The stadiums are filled with slogans of Kashmir and politics.

(This appeared as a Letter to the Editor in The Times of India in 1992)