9th February

Game On

The article praises the IPL T20 tournament as it has defied the current economic downturn and attracted the investment which shows investors’ confidence in the format. It also talks about IPL’s ability to bridge gap between the nations.

The current IPL auction indicated that investors believe that there is a lot of money into it. Besides this, the format that requires specific skills not necessary derived from the Test or ODI format, gave rise to new stars. Last year IPL stars like Shawn Marsh, David Hussey and Ravinder Jadeja are now a part of national team. In this year’s auction, all-rounders were preferred over one dimensional players. Surprise auction was that of Bangladeshi cricketer Mortaza as KKR eyes Bangladesh as a key market in future for IPL tournaments. IPL has the ability to un-mesh the cricket from nationalism in the subcontinent and bridge the gap between the countries. 

At the end, the author talks about globalization of IPL to attract more market. Already IPL is seen to be challenging English Premier League in terms of revenue and viewership. It’s time to promote cricket as an entertainment beyond nationalism.

Make Him Answer

The author addresses the criticality of A Q Khan’s release on the impact on War against Terrorism and nuclear proliferation market. 

After the release from house arrest, it is imperative for the world community, especially IAEA, to gain access to A Q Khan since he is extremely dangerous with respect to current market of nuclear trade and smuggling going on. Khan is currently the national hero in Pakistan and Islamabad cannot be blamed for Khan’s trafficking. If the questioning is allowed, it could provide a leverage and strength to the civilian government when it comes to Rawalpindi. What could be done by US is to link its aid with the conditionality to gain access to Khan. The danger of allowing him to move freely, especially when Taliban and Al-Qaeda is swiftly entering the western province, is enormous.

Lastly, US recently have placed sanctions on 13 individuals and 3 companies for colluding with Khan. It is important to destroy the network, Khan has built. Although Islamabad says that Khan’s chapter is over, however, western world should ensure it is not.