World Cup faces security threat

World Cup faces security threat

The 2011 cricket world cup is exactly 68 days away today and true to form the British media has raked up a security issue that could snowball into a major crisis for the organizers of this one-in-four-years cricket extravaganza.

A news article published by The Telegraph quotes an un-named security expert to suggest that the cricket World Cup may be targeted by terror outfits unless the organizers come out with a "major change of strategy."

The newspaper does provide a solution through the words of the anonymous security expert! Spend an additional 6.5 million dollars (approximately Rs.30 crore) to buy bullet proof and bomb-resistant buses for the players' travel from their hotel to the ground. It further suggests that similar buses were sought for the last edition of the IPL but didn't get delivered on time.

The security expert highlights the March 2009 terror attack on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore and claims that the test playing countries in the sub-continent were ill-equipped to counter such strikes. "Before the Lahore attack, the perception was that sportsmen in Asia, and particularly cricketers, would never be threatened by terrorists. That theory died with the eight victims in Lahore," the article says.

It further argues that the cost of these buses is barely five percent of what the organizers paid the ICC for the rights to stage the event. The author further makes an unsubstantiated reference that "the greatest fear of World Cup security advisers is of an attack on a team in transit by road." and rubbishes claims that clearing the roads before the convoy travels wasn't reliable enough.

Authorities have not yet learnt from Bangalore episode?

The author of the article Scyld Berry feels it prudent to mention the bomb blast outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore or the heavy security that various state administrations have provided to cricket venues in the past. What he does insist on "revealing" is the the "players, including Kevin Petersen (sic!), were assured that the ground was safe, but that "more bombs were found".

He also conveniently forgets that the English cricket team actually flew back to play a memorable test match at Chepauk in Chennai, barely days after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. In fact, team leader Andrew Flintoff recently listed Sachin Tendulkar's match winning century in that test as his best and the batting maestro's heartfelt gratitude to the Brits for returning to play the test as the most poignant moment in his playing career.

While it is good to be careful about the safety and security of one's citizens, the British media seems to take this to paranoid levels without once bothering to look at its own security record in terms of terror strikes and its avoidance. What's more, the author of this article seems to have completely forgotten that his country's team to the CWG 2010 had given a thumbs up to security.

Now, it remains to be seen if Mani's successor and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar nips this security threat talk in the bud and ensures that the state administrations in India to do whatever it takes to allay such fears. Knowing the pride that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are taking at staging the matches, one feels secure about those countries while Pakistan is any not in the picture.

The timing of the story and the fact that it is completely bereft of proper sourcing makes one wonder whether some of our own countrymen, especially those involved with the CWG scam, could have had a hand in "placing" the report. The only police maxim of "who benefits from the crime" rears its ugly head once again. If only Scotland Yard had its own version of the Radia Tapes to share with us!