For the sake of the credibility of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, India better not win it.
The World Cup is an event with prestige and history and if India win it this year it will put that in jeopardy.
The problem is partly India’s, but mostly the ICC’s who are bending over backwards at this event to make it ‘easier’ for India to go as far as possible in the tournament – all the way to the final in fact, and all the way to putting the trophy in MS Dhoni’s hands next Saturday.
Before the tournament started the ICC admitted the format for this year’s event was structured so as to ensure that the likes of Pakistan and India would get through, even if they slipped up in the group stages. Well that has happened.
However, it’s what’s taken place since which has irked me. On Sunday, while the West Indies were playing India in Chennai, only one team was certain of where it was travelling for the quarter-final. Yes, India. The remaining seven sides had to wait for the outcome of the game in Chennai before knowing where they would travel for their first knockout match.
During the group stages of the tournament it was decided over a cup of tea somewhere that India would be guaranteed to play their knockout matches in India. If the ICC had stuck to their original schedule then India, who finished second in Group B, should have played their quarter-final in Dhaka tomorrow. South Africa should be in Colombo, Sri Lanka should be Ahmedabad. Yesterday’s match between Pakistan and the West Indies was the only match played where it was originally scheduled to be played. Everything else was determined by how it best suited India. If India had lost Sunday against West Indies, they would have finished third but their quarter-final would still have been played in Ahmedabad and Sri Lanka who finished second in group A, would have had to travel.
If India win this tournament how can they claim they are World Champions when everything has been structured in their favour? To use another World Cup as an example; when France were the main hosts of the 2007 Rugby World Cup and they failed to top their Group, which would have guaranteed them a quarter-final at the Stade de France, did the IRB do an about turn and say they didn’t have to travel to Cardiff for their knock out match? No.
The ICC have bent over backwards to accommodate India, now they better hope the Indian team doesn’t win this competition, because if they do, how credible has this whole long six week exercise been? - The Star