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SPORTS:
CRICKET
Deserted Venue
India's absence in Sharjah has caused a financial
setback to the organisers and heartburn to the fans
By Sharda Ugra
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PLAYING ON: Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene bats in front of empty
stands in Sharjah
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Parvez Zaridad of
Peshawar earns his livelihood as a taxidriver in Sharjah. Once again,
he has come to the stadium in the desert to watch his favourite cricketer
Shahid Afridi belt the ball with brute force. This year though, things
are different and he sighs, "India ke bagair dam nahi hai (Without
India, there's no fun)."
When Pakistan played Sri Lanka in the Ary Gold
Cup tri-nation tournament, the crowds did pack the stands at the Sharjah
Cricket Stadium. But without the traditional tinder-box rivalry of India
and Pakistan, it was not quite the same. Like the story of cricket in
the emirate itself, the impact of the Indian pull-out from the annual
summer fixture is being felt at different levels.
There is the monetary loss, where earnings from
gate receipts and advertising hoardings during the seven-match event have
been cut almost by half. But the Cricketers' Benefit Fund Series (CBFS),
organisers and pioneers of Sharjah cricket, is confident it will tide
over the financial setback caused by India's withdrawal.
"No doubt, without India there will be a
financial setback. The in-stadia advertising and gate money are affected,"
says Qassim Noorani, CBFS vice-president and part of its original think
tank along with Abdul Rehman Bukhatir and ex-Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal.
Earlier this month, Iqbal quit CBFS after 20 years as coordinator, citing
his inability to cope with the "political interference". A bitter
Iqbal said, "Cricket has been taken out of the hands of cricket boards.
The CBFS will have to find allrounders who can deal with both politicians
and cricket boards."
However, the CBFS has had to live with the uncomfortable
fact that Iqbal's name has featured in no less than three independent
inquiries (in India, Pakistan and South Africa) investigating illegal
betting and match-fixing. While individual cricket boards did not take
up the issue of Iqbal's name cropping up in the reports with the CBFS
at all, a statement by International Cricket Council (ICC) President Malcolm
Gray has hit Sharjah hard. Just before the Indian decision, Gray said
that Sharjah was an event that "falls outside" the ICC's plans
and ambitious 10-year-calendar. It caused great consternation within the
CBFS and Bukhatir claimed that there was a concerted plan from individuals
in India, UAE and even the UK to "sabotage Sharjah as a venue".
Sharjah has staged more one-dayers than any other stadium in the cricket
world and received support from former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur,
among others.
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EX-TEAM: Controversy
has brought the partnership of Iqbal (left) and Bukhatir to an end
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Despite India's absence, the CBFS was able to
sell all its advertisement hoardings in time for the start of the Ary
Gold Cup. On the first Friday of the tournament, the stadium was filled
to its 25,000-strong capacity, some spectators even being turned away.
But financially, the organisers have had to swallow a bitter pill. After
the Indian withdrawal, in-stadia advertisement rates were almost halved
and ticket prices slashed by 50 per cent. Hoardings on the ground, which
once cost 75,000 dirhams (Rs 9.5 lakh) for sponsorship, could be had for
40,000 dirhams (Rs 5.1 lakh). Daily tickets for weekend games (Thursday-Friday),
which usually sold for 70 dirhams (Rs 892) for North Stand seats, were
marked down to 30 dirhams (Rs 382).Two days before the start of the tournament,
title sponsors Coca-Cola (India) also withdrew as its contract with the
organisers required both India and Pakistan to be playing in the series.
Dubai-based Pakistani jewellers Ary Gold stepped in since, but at a much
lower cost than what Coca-Cola would have paid to WorldTel (who owned
the title sponsorship and TV rights for Sharjah) had India played.
When the Sharjah organisers were forced to rope
in New Zealand at the last minute, not only did they have to pay the Kiwis
an unprecedentedly high guarantee fee for showing up-$200,000 (Rs 92 lakh)
as opposed to the usual fee of between $100,000 and $150,000 given to
the third team at a Sharjah event, they also had to live with the knowledge
that the New Zealanders would be sending a second-string outfit.
Bukhatir is confident the future of the CBFS
may not be as bleak as many now believe. Having given $4.5 million (Rs
20.7 crore) to former cricket players as benefit purses in the last 20
years, the cricket entrepreneur is determined to continue his venture
and expand his operations with an A-team tournament in Morocco in July
this year.
Interestingly, Mike Mascarenhas, CEO, WorldTel,
has also made a renewed bid for TV rights to the tournament. WorldTel's
contract with the CBFS ends with the Ary Gold Cup. Along with Mascarenhas
and WorldTel, there are other players ready to make a pitch for television
rights. Sports marketing giants IMG and their TV arm TWI have recently
opened an office in Dubai. A spokesman for IMG-TWI says, "Our office
is monitoring the situation with the CBFS. However, with all commercial
contracts now ending in Sharjah, the key step is for the CBFS to be clear
on how and when the Indian team can come before any new contracts are
signed."
Apart from the ICC very visibly turning away
from Sharjah and the financial setbacks to the CBFS, India's pull-out
hit the sentiments of expatriate cricket fans hard. Opinion though is
unanimous that international cricket should continue. "We've been
deprived of seeing the Indian cricketers," says housewife Karuna
Bennur. "If we can play hockey with Pakistan, why not cricket?"
Leading Indian businessman Shyam Bhatia says, "I will continue watching
cricket, irrespective of India coming or not. But it hurts not to see
India here." Bukhatir says he would like to continue hosting Test-playing
countries and hopes one day "better sense will prevail and India
will eventually play here".
The motives behind the Indian Government's decision
to impose a three-year ban on "off-shore" cricket are still
unclear. Whether it is a political cold shoulder to Pakistan, the fear
of illegal betting syndicates making merry from non-stop pyjama cricket
or a combination of both, has not yet been specified. It is of scant consolation
to organisers and expat Indians. Bukhatir has bravely said, "Sharjah
has nothing to do with India or Pakistan except for their cricketing contributions.
Our own level of cricket is not going to suffer because of this."
That claim will now be put to the test.
—With bureau reports from Sharjah
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