Sarfraz's assault, and 600 million people

Sarfraz Nawaz has launched a shotgun assault on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), accusing them of mishandling cricket affairs, and an inability to prepare pitches on time. He has questioned the move from Lahore to Karachi that was ordered by Shaharyar Khan, PCB's chairman. But he saved his most spiteful attack for Wasim Akram. The Daily Times quoted Sarfraz as saying that Akram's involvement in cricket affairs "might promote corruption and gambling".

"The cricket board should not be contacting Wasim Akram," he said. Sarfraz then went on to say that Pakistan would not do well as a team, but could find redemption with individual matchwinners. Why would Pakistan fare poorly? He blamed the cricket board's policies, and said that Shaharyar and the board officials had failed at their jobs. "Shaharyar Khan and other officials have failed to handle cricket affairs. I wonder why President Pervez Musharraf is not taking action against them."

Sarfraz spoke about the pitch preparation, saying, "Slightly fast pitches may help the Pakistan pacers trouble the Indian batsmen. Isn't it unfortunate that the board has not yet made up its mind regarding [pitch] preparation?"

He wasn't done yet. "Is the cricket board Shaharyar's personal property?" Nawaz asked, questioning Shaharyar's decision to shift his office from Lahore to Karachi, even though the board headquarters was in Lahore.

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Jon Henderson of The Guardian writes that each of the five one-day internationals between India and Pakistan will be watched by over 600 million people. And that's only on the subcontinent. In comparison, England's tour of the West Indies would attract only hundreds of thousands. When India's tour begins on March 13, all commercial activity is expected to come to a halt.

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Speaking to Mid Day, Sourav Ganguly said that the tour to Pakistan was hyped up, and that being part of the peace process wasn't on his agenda. He said that the pressure would be on Pakistan who, he believed, weren't as challenging as Australia. "We don't think Pakistan will be as tough as Australia," Ganguly was quoted by Associated Press. "Pakistan has a new side now," he continued, adding that it was weaker without Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar.

As far as his own team was concerned, Ganguly wanted them to stick to the rudiments. "The point is to stick to the basics. The batsmen get the runs and the bowlers take the wickets." He said the pressure was enormous, but the team wouldn't allow it to get the better of them. "As hosts, they will definitely be under more pressure," Ganguly said. "But it's going to be competitive and the expectations from us, too, would be great."

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Omar Kureshi takes up Saqlain Mushtaq's cause in his latest column in The Indian Express. He writes, "Saqlain has been in poor form, but whenever cricket's experts all over the world get down to talk about spin bowling, the name of Saqlain crops up, and, more often than not, he is mentioned in the present tense as the world's best offspinner along with Sri Lanka's [Muttiah] Muralitharan."

Confusion over his role in the team led to his failures, which, in turn, led to his removal from the team. "Opinion was divided over whether he was an attacking bowler ... or a containing bowler", Kureshi continued. "I would imagine this left Saqlain confused as to what his role was."

He mentioned that Wasim Bari, the chairman of the selection committee, may not play Saqlain in the first one-dayer, but being with the squad could be beneficial to his involvement in the Tests.

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Mohammad Sami wasn't too worried about challenging India's batsmen. In comments to Mid Day, Sami said, "I know it is an important series for us and people have high expectations from us. But I will go out there and bowl as I normally do."

According to Sami, never having played the Indians has helped relieve him of any undue pressure. "The Indians come with batsmen of great reputation. I have never played them, so I am taking no extra pressure. I know they are bound to be good, but I will just go out there and bowl as fast and as straight as I can. The rest is up to fate."

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Pakistan's players have been advised to keep a straight face and be good, according to a report in The Indian Express. Shaharyar Khan met the squad in Lahore and asked them to ensure that their actions did not send out wrong signals. He underlined the fact that it was an important series from a political perspective as well.

Haroon Rasheed, Pakistan's manager, said, "His [Shaharyar's] message was that if the players tried hard and gave their best till the last [ball], the people would also accept any result with sportsmanship, knowing their team had done its best."

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It's not just the fans who'll be watching the upcoming tour with a twinge of anxiety. According to Dawn, politicians' and investors' fate will revolve around the outcome of the series. "Frankly, we have one eye on cricket and another on elections. Both will have an impact on the markets," the Business Standard quoted a market analyst as saying. Another added, "It's not funny, you know. We seriously believe that the series will influence the relationship between the two countries. It may even have a bearing on the outcome of elections."

Rajinder Puri, writing in Outlook, added some more worry to the stew. "A major terrorist strike could not only derail the peace process but also remove Vajpayee, the most persistent advocate of Indo-Pak peace."