The Dhaka High Court has slapped a four-week stay on the Bangladesh cricket team’s April 29-30 tour of Pakistan, which unless reversed or lifted, could mean cancellation of the tour, the first visit by a foreign team since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. The Dhaka High Court has asked the Bangladesh authorities to explain why the tour was scheduled in the first place despite the concern voiced by different quarters about the team’s security while in Pakistan. If the tour does go ahead — an increasingly remote possibility — it would have meant the frost on international teams visiting Pakistan would have thawed. The writ petition, seeking an injunction against the Bangladesh team’s Pakistan visit, was jointly moved by a lawyer and a university professor. Significantly, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had approved the tour, while Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had assured that the team would be provided foolproof security. It seems neither were enough. The recently appointed Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf has been making concerted efforts to overcome the roadblocks in the way of a revival of international cricket on Pakistani soil. The Bangladesh team’s visit would have been the first step towards ending Pakistan’s isolation. Unfortunately, we have only ourselves to blame for our ostracisation at international cricket level. Playing ‘home’ series in Dubai or elsewhere is not really a substitute for the thrill of a real home series. The Dhaka High Court’s injunction in view of what has been happening in Karachi, Bannu, Swat or elsewhere in Pakistan is hardly surprising. It is about time we sincerely tried to put the genie of extremism back into the bottle, if the ‘apartheid’ we are suffering in international cricket is to come to an end. *