Dharamsala, INDIA — It was business as usual in Dharamsala on Wednesday as the World T20 qualifying Group A matches got underway despite the ground being labelled as “too unsafe” to host India vs Pakistan on March 19.
There was little to suggest that the area is unsecure, with controlled road blocks at every turn and two layers of security greeting every media member and the general public as they entered the stadium.
Of course, a sparse stadium for the Bangladesh vs Netherlands and Oman vs Ireland double headers pale in comparison to a visit from Pakistan, their rivalry with India the most volatile in cricket, possibly in sport.
And for anyone who knows the stadium and Dharamsala’s winding, narrow streets the clear problem facing security officials would be guaranteeing Pakistan players safe passage to the ground.
But those policemen on duty at the HPCA were more than confident that they had the manpower, ability and desire to play host to Pakistan without incident.
“We are safe and we would not have a problem with a Pakistan match,” one police officer told Sport360.
“It is all politics and there are some people here very upset after the attacks but there would not be any problem and we would be able to handle the game without problem.”
Here in the spiritual surrounds of Dharamsala, the already strained political relationship between the two countries is even tenser.
The Himachal Pradesh government has lobbied against hosting the tie, pointing to a Pakistani militant attack in January on an airbase in nearby Pathankot as reason why the region would not be able to guarantee Pakistani players and fans’ safety, while the local population would not be welcoming hosts.
It came at a hugely unfortunate time for Indo-Pak relations, the airbase raid happening just two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on a peace-making mission to Pakistan.
It led to both countries cancelling further talks over their political differences and drove an ever greater wedge between the two countries.
Chief minister Virbhadra Singh has been leading the local government’s stance against Pakistan’s visit and has been openly criticised by BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur for doing so.
It has resulted in a bitter to and fro between governments and cricketing bodies – despite having over a year to prepare for the event.
This week the PCB sent a three-man security team to Himachal Pradesh and after meeting with Singh were left adamant that they could not play the match in Dharamsala.
Exchanges went back and forth but no decision was near being made until Wednesday afternoon as the ICC called a hasty press conference in Delhi after PCB officials told Sport360 that they had been offered Kolkata as a new venue to host the match.
It is a politically charged matter and one that needed great care in its handling. It has not often been the case, Singh proving dismissive of the match and then Thakur warning his comments set a precedent that the country did not want to.
In among this, there has been a deathly quiet ICC team that has distanced itself from any decisive action; the governments have ben holding all the cards and neither wanting to lose face in the eventual outcome.
Dharamsala was named the host city back on December 11, a month after it was named a World T20 venue and just weeks before the terror attacks in the Punjab region.
Since then the alarming lack of concrete decision making has sold short the tournament, embarrassed both governments and done little to suggest that the ICC has any real influence in the key sub-continent places of power.
It has also failed the general public who have been eagerly waiting for this match to take place, with balloting for the match only recently beginning. Now it is being upped and taken elsewhere.
The whole, sordid affair has left a bitter taste and you can only hope now that we are treated to a superb, trouble free game of cricket when, or indeed if, the match goes ahead.