da pinnacle： After all the uncertainty surrounding the Asian Test Championship, thetournament is finally ready to kick off from Wednesday though India’sabsence has taken the gloss off the tournament
29-Aug-2001After all the uncertainty surrounding the Asian Test Championship, thetournament is finally ready to kick off from Wednesday though India’sabsence has taken the gloss off the tournament.”The championship has lost its colour,” said Bangladesh captain NaimurRahman on the eve of his team’s only fourth Test match since gainingTest status.It could have been nice to play one more game (against India). Wecould have learnt a lot after playing against them,” Naimur said afterhis team had a two-hour net session Tuesday.Pakistan captain Waqar Younis was also disappointed at India’swithdrawal from the now reduced three-team competition which alsofeatures Sri Lanka.”The championship has lost it’s charm after India pulled its team, butwe hope to get maximum points from this match,” he said.India’s mind-boggling decision will certainly leave the ACC to sufferwith huge financial losses. But the decision to go-ahead with thetournament despite India’s withdrawal shows who calls the shots.But will the International Cricket Council (ICC) show some teeth andimpose sanctions on India is yet to be seen though analysts believeIndia will once again escape scot-free because of its massivecommercial market on which electronic media survives. But the questionis how long will India’s unsporting behaviour be tolerated.