Indian Cricket Fever - The Asia Cup: A Review

The Asia Cup: A Review

By Gaurang June 16 2008
Arguably, the second most important ODI tournament in the world, The Asia Cup, which pits the giants and minnows of Asian cricket against each other in a battle for bragging rights over what is more than half the cricket world, has always received step-motherly treatment not only from the ICC, but also from the participating nations' Cricket Boards, and consequently from media and fans as well.

The latest instance of such treatment was the shifting of the dates for the tournament to late June, a period of time when cricket traditionally is not played in the Indian subcontinent due to the onset of the monsoon rains. However, this was the only window of time that the BCCI would give to the tournament, as it was determined to hold the first season of the recently concluded Indian Premiere League (IPL), during the summer vacation months, to gain maximum interest and following and hence revenues. The venerable Asia Cup was bumped to make room for the razzmatazz of Cirque du Modi.

One hopes that with the tournament scheduled to be played in the rainy season, the games are not too badly impacted by the weather, otherwise the tournament may turn out to be a damp squib both figuratively and literally.

The Asia Cup was first played in the desert venue of Sharjah in 1984. Called the Rothmans Asia Cup, it had India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka battling for supremacy. The Indians, fresh from their World Cup victory and victory in the Benson and Hedges Cup in Australia were favorites, though the captaincy had shifted from Kapil Dev to Sunil Gavaskar. India duly won the Cup, making it three wins in three international one day tournaments, a huge turn around from a side that was eliminated in the league stages of the 1979 World Cup, after losing to Sri Lanka, then not yet a Test nation. Over the years India has won the cup four times, the most of any nation, while current champions Sri Lanka who both hosted and won the last edition of the cup in 2004, have won the championship three times. The only other team to win the Cup is Pakistan who won it in 2000.

The Asia Cup was supposed to be held every two years and was supposed to foster unity and understanding among the cricketing nations of Asia. That it has not really succeeded in either goal, is more due to the lack of importance given to the tournament, especially by the Asian boards, and the BCCI in particular. This neglect is then mirrored by the media in these countries, again especially India, and to a large extent the fans too. Huge advertising campaigns are launched around the ICC sponsored World Cup, and Champions Trophy. Books sponsored by corporate entities such as Wills (the cigarette manufacturers) recount the history of the World Cup, and entire issues of magazines such as SportStar or Cricinfo are published for the World Cup. Sadly very little such activity is seen around the Asia Cup.

The 2008 edition of the Asia Cup, which begins on June 24^th, has Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and UAE in Group A, based in Lahore, and Hong Kong, India, and Pakistan in Group B, based in Karachi. For the minnows it is a rare chance to play with the big boys, and for the powerhouses it is all about Asia wide bragging rights. One hopes that despite the shabby treatment by the BCCI and the media, this important tournament does end up being a success, not just for the coffers of the PCB, who are hosting the event, but for Asian cricket and cricketers in particular.

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