Cricket’s future in Asia in jeopardy due to terrorist attacks

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The bombing and machine gun attacks in Mumbai demonstrates how terrorism has affected Asian nations hosting sporting tours and places the global future of cricket in jeopardy.

Pakistan, hit by a spate of bombings, will finish 2008 without playing a single cricket Test. Sri Lanka’s civil war involving the Tamil Tigers has been going for more than 25 years and shows no sign of abating.

Now, more than 119 people in Mumbai are dead in India’s worst terror attack, causing the England cricket team’s tour to be suspended and threatening a sport in a region containing four of the nine Test-playing nations.

“If the message (of terrorists) is accepted then the pressure will build up,” said Zakir Hussain Syed, a cricket columnist said of the latest terror attacks on Wednesday night. “For the masses, cricket is a recreational oxygen in the subcontinent. Not only is the sport keenly followed on television, people go in large numbers to see their stars in action live on the grounds.”

The other five countries with the International Cricket Council’s elite Test status – Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies – have recently demonstrated their reluctance to visit the subcontinent, and the future of the sport could be bleak if that continues.

Hundreds of people have died in Pakistan this year due to suicide bombings, forcing the ICC to postpone the biennial Champions Trophy – the second most prestigious limited-overs tournament after the World Cup – from September to a date still to be decided.

“You want cricket to be played in all parts of the world and that has been the problem with Pakistan, you haven’t been able to tour there because of the volatile country,” New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori said.

Vettori fears that Test cricket could be restricted to being played in only a few countries if the security situation doesn’t improve.

“If other countries start going down that road then there will only be three or four countries you can play,” he said. “You never really want to go down that road, so you leave it to the people who make those decisions. We’ve trusted them in the past and we’ll trust them in the future.”

The concerns have even forced the Pakistan Cricket Board to consider staging a series against India at a neutral venue in January.

Syed feels subcontinental nations should focus on ensuring they play each other at home, and forget about convincing non-Asian countries that the region is safe.

“The only way I see the game progressing in subcontinent is that at least the bilateral series between the subcontinent teams be played in the respective countries,” said Syed, who has also worked as a development manager for the Asian Cricket Council.

“India could send positive vibes by touring Pakistan in January.”

The terrorist attack has also caused the postponement in India of the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League tournament that involves the top five provincial teams in the world.

Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and was due to compete in the Champions League, said if the tournament was cancelled that it would be a “huge loss” for international cricket.

“But the impact is minor compared with the social and economic impacts that it will have on India,” Hayden said.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting backed the event to be held elsewhere after Cricket Australia’s decision to stop all travel to India.

“It’s a horrible thing to have happened,” Ponting said. “Everyone who’s playing in the event or wants to see the event do well would like to see it go ahead, so if that means moving it to a different country then I guess I’d support that.”

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland expected Mumbai’s terrorism attack to cause a similar tightening in security to that which followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

“Cricket will go on. It doesn’t mean that we will cut any corners in making decisions,” Sutherland said Friday. “Everything is going to be more rigorous. That’s what we saw in the world following 9-11 and that’s what is going to come as a consequence of this.

“Even putting aside cricket issues, security issues in India and for the Indian government and the Indian armed forces, the police, (are) going to take on a completely different sphere.”

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam wants the cricket boards to get together to restore confidence, but acknowledges there is little it can do in the short term.

“It’s a matter beyond the control of respective cricket boards after what happened in Mumbai,” he said.

Former Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillakaratne has a similarly forlorn outlook on the sport’s future.

“Pakistan is already struggling without tours and India has had to cancel two tournaments,” Tillakaratne said. “With these bombings, cricket may come to a standstill.”

Commandos enter Mumbai Jewish centre

Commandos tighten noose on Mumbai hostage-takers
Link to this videoIndian commandos have blown a hole in the outer wall of the complex housing a Mumbai Jewish centre as the battle against the militants intensifies.

The building was cloaked with thick smoke after the blast, television pictures showed, as commandos engaged in what appeared to be a final offensive to free the hostages inside.

A commando team was dropped by helicopter on to the roof early this morning as the violence that has left at least 143 dead and hundreds injured moved into its third day.

The gunmen, thought to number between three and seven, are believed to be isolated on the third and fourth floor of the five-storey building. It is feared they are holding up to six hostages, including the rabbi and his wife.

There were also further explosions at the Taj Mahal hotel, one of the two luxury hotels seized by militants in the violence that began late on Wednesday night. Fresh assaults are underway in an attempt to flush out the remaining militants.

Gunmen in the hotel are thought to be using hostages as human shields on a darkened, upper floor where the power supply has been cut. Smoke was seen billowing from the roof.

At least one militant was believed to be inside the ballroom, security official ML Kumawat said.

The Indian army said two militants were killed at the Oberoi hotel – now said to be in the control of the Indian commandos – and a total of nine shot dead in the city. As many as 25 terrorists may have taken part in the assault.

The overall death toll is expected to rise further. Neville Bharucha, from the Parsi ambulance service, said bodies inside the hotel could not be recovered because terrorists were still at large.

“There are dead bodies in the old Taj building,” he said, as he stood outside the hotel. “They are all lying there, they are the guests. We can’t recover the bodies because of the terrorists. They are still holding human shields”

Near the Mumbai police commissioner’s office fresh fighting broke out. Two young schoolgirls died in the incident, according to hospital sources.

The mayhem has left the skyline of India’s financial capital smoking. Mumbai, a metropolis of 19 million people, has been reduced to a ghost town – with many international firms cancelling travel and closing offices.

World leaders were quick to condemn the attacks. The US president-elect, Barack Obama, vowed the US would work with “India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks”.

Recently improved relations between Pakistan and India were under strain after the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, pointed the finger of blame at “external forces”. He said New Delhi would “take up strongly” the use of neighbours’ territory to launch attacks on India.

India’s external affairs minister, Pranab Mukherjee, was more pointed: “According to preliminary information, some elements in Pakistan are responsible for Mumbai terror attacks,” he asserted. “Proof cannot be disclosed at this time.”

One captured militant was reported to be a Pakistani national. The accusations raised fears that the peace process between the two nuclear rivals would stall.

The Indian navy also intercepted two Pakistani merchant vessels off the coast of Gujarat. It is believed that some of the terrorists arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday night by boat, and the navy was last night searching for the ship that dropped them there.

Pakistan’s president, Asif Ali Zardari, condemned the attack as “detestable”. He has agreed to send the head of the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to India to share information on the attacks, following a request by Singh.

Two Scotland Yard officers were on their way to Mumbai to help the authorities. The Foreign Office said it was investigating claims that some of attackers were British-born Pakistanis.

It was clear that foreign targets, especially those from the US and UK, had been singled out. One of the first targets was the Cafe Leopold, a famous hangout popular with foreign tourists.

The attackers also picked off British and US citizens in the luxury hotels. Television pictures showed how bloody and brazen the attackers were: two men were shown shooting at random as they drove through streets in a stolen police jeep.

Many hotel guests simply barricaded themselves into their rooms and hoped for the best. Yasmin Wong, a CNN employee who was staying in the Taj, told the news network that she hid under her bed for several hours after she was awoken by gunfire. She said she received a phone call from the hotel telling her to turn her light off, put a wet towel by the door and stay in her room until she was told otherwise.

The Foreign Office confirmed that one Briton, 73-year-old Andreas Liveras, had died in the attack. A shipping tycoon, he was shot dead apparently moments after speaking to the BBC from a basement.

Two Australians, a Japanese woman, an Italian, and three Germans also died. But the majority of those killed were ordinary Indians as they boarded trains and ate meals. At least 315 people were injured.

An exclusive look at Shah Rukh Khan’s new haircut for My Name is Khan

 

Chops off his long locks for Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan

Shah Rukh Khan has chopped off his long mane. This ’short cut’ is for Karan Johar’s My Name is Khan. This is the shortest SRK has ever worn his hair.

Second-stage look

Hairdresser Dilshad is responsible for Shah Rukh’s new cut. It is believed that the actor will trim his hair shorter after a few days. Almost like a crew cut. According to a source, “His hair cut was done in three stages. He is sporting the second stage look and will further chop his hair shorter in a few days.”

In My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh plays a character called Rizwan Khan, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a relatively milder form of autism.

Off to shoot

The first half of the film is based on a true story that happened to a couple and Karan Johar has bought the story rights from the couple. Shah Rukh will leave for Los Angeles in the second week of Dece- mber. The film will also be shot in New York in the next schedule. 

Return of THE jodi

The film brings SRK and Kajol back together. Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan have so far starred together in the following films, all of which turned out to be hits — Baazigar (1993), Karan Arjun (1995), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001).

He looks totally like a boy.i dont know whatever the reason but i always like him in his typical style and hair….c’mon we all have been used to that style for ages now and we are not gonna accept any change in a good thing so easily…might be the film requires it but stil

So this is not the final look? can’t wait to see him in a crew hair cut! He will be even more sexier. This film will be something else.