By Fakir Hassen, IANS,
Johannesburg : There will be no souring of relations between Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the former’s decision not to play in the Champions Trophy. The tournament was finally postponed by the International Cricket Council.
Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), was reacting to reports that the PCB had expressed dismay at South Africa becoming the first country to refuse to participate in the tournament, which was scheduled next week but was postponed until next year.
“There is no way that the relationship between us and Pakistan has been damaged,” Majola told the Afrikaans daily Beeld here Tuesday.
“Everybody understands our position. In fact we withdrew from other tours (Sri Lanka) and that did not hamper out relations with the boards. I cannot see that would happen with with Pakistan.”
Majola said he understood Pakistan’s disappointment, but the bigger picture of players’ safety and that of all involved in the tournament had to be taken into account.
“It’s not just the safety of players that needs to be considered, but also of the supporters going there for the tournament. How can you guarantee their safety?”
South Africa had earlier expressed concern during a tour of Pakistan last year when bombs went off close to the hotel that the visiting squad was staying in.
But the Pakistani editor of the website cricinfo.com, Osman Samiuddin, slammed the South African decision and reasoning, calling it “inconsistent and at worst hypocritical.”
“They came last October when the situation was as, if not more, unstable than it is now. They even stayed after the first attempt on Benazir Bhutto’s life, and weeks before they arrived, the siege of Lal Masjid had just ended. Days after they left, a state of emergency was announced, indicating just how turbulent things were,” Samiuddin said on the website.
Samiuddin also lashed out at South African Captain Graeme Smith, who played for the Rajasthan Royals in the inaugural IPL series recently.
“Incidentally, it was players from these countries who didn’t mind the bombs in Jaipur during the IPL.”