Former Pakistani captain Wasim Akram tells Mobile ESPN that if Sri Lanka cancel Pakistan tour, cricket in sub-continent will suffer.

By Soumitra Bose

"For god's sake, please keep politics aside from cricket", reacted Wasim Akram when told that even Sri Lanka may cancel their tour of Pakistan in January-February.

With the Lankan tour increasingly coming under a cloud in the wake of Arjuna Ranatunga's sacking as the chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket's interim committee, the former Pakistan captain feels political pressures should not be destroying "sport" in the sub-continent.

PCB hopeful of Lanka tour

"Sri Lanka coming to Pakistan is essential for us. Not just because it will be a cracker of a series, it's because other teams will start believing in our security structure and will start coming over in the near future," Akram said in a telephonic interview from Lahore.

Former ICC chief Ehsan Mani is already fearing Pakistan's isolation from international cricket and the latest developments in Sri Lanka are not encouraging for the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Players propose, politicians dispose

On Tuesday, Ranatunga was sacked by the Lankan sports minister Gamini Lokuge for "not co-operating" with the government. But Board insiders say the minister is angry because Ranatunga "unilaterally" decided that Lanka will tour the troubled nation after India pulled out in the wake of the Mumbai killings by Pakistani-trained terrorists.

"I think Ranatunga's decision was fair enough. Pakistan and India put up a joint team versus Lanka when Australia and the West Indies refused to play in the island nation during the 1996 World Cup. Ranatunga was simply reciprocating a decision that effectively was good for cricket," Akram said, adding: "there is no need to read between lines."

Sri Lanka won't mind touring Pakistan

"As a cricketer, I was looking forward to the series. Pakistan must play Test cricket and I was happy for the lads. They have not played a Test match for a year and it would have been great to see how our batsmen negotiated two of the world's leading spinners: Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis," Akram said.

But then, in today's cricket, and specifically in the Indian sub-continent, players propose, politicians dispose.