Friday, August 24, 2001 Whatever the bluster from the politicians and military men who run the Asian cricket boards, this year's Asian Test Championship is greatly devalued by India's absence. Pakistan versus India is the jewel in the tournament's crown - a conflict more deeply rooted than the Ashes and convict ships. But the Indian government won't let it happen because it fears upsetting its own hardliners. And if India and Pakistan hit it off on the cricket field it becomes difficult to label the old enemy as an evil empire. This is an impasse that suits the Indian government. I don't believe it suits Indian fans. While it is easy to dismiss the ATC as sheer excess, a kulfi too far or a twinkle in Jagmohan Dalmiya's eye, it does have its upsides. A tournament that introduced Shoaib Akhtar to the world and bestowed a first golden duck upon Sachin Tendulkar can't be completely worthless. The Asian Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Federation, the event organiser, are also at pains to point out that profits from the tournament will be channeled into developing the game in the region. Fabulous, if true, because for all its cricket madness and new technologies South Asia remains poverty-stricken. The boards are rich but the masses play with sticks and stones. No doubt there is a real fear that these funds could end up spawning a private palace or a money-spinning shopping mall, but with India's boycott neither clean nor dirty money will be in abundance. It would probably make financial sense to cancel the tournament now that India's billion-strong consumer market is no longer a sponsor magnet. But that would not suit the region's development plans. In case the world hadn't noticed, Asia wants to become the home of cricket, the region with the best facilities and the biggest clout. Despite the huge fan base in South Asia, the wider continent has a sports gap: millions of fans with no game to call their own. That's where Dalmiya, reincarnated as the chairman of the Asian Cricket Federation, comes in. Imagine the financial potential of a cricket empire that reaches from the Gulf States to South East Asia. Junior tournaments are already organised on this Asia-wide basis. The Asian Cricket Council and Asian Cricket Federation will be keen to put India in its place. To allow their plans to be derailed by a member state would set an unwise precedent, and they will see this year's lame tournament as an investment. When it comes, the payback will be astronomical, and a legion of Test-playing nations will be created in the process. Who could complain?

Bangladesh have most to gain this time around, although if they reach the final a match-fixing inquiry is sure to follow. Experience and exposure to the big time are what Bangladesh's players need; the rest is a learning curve. A decade ago, Sri Lanka were in a similar position, new and eager, but second-rate. That their success has been achieved despite limited opportunity against cricket's traditional powers shows that Asia can educate its own. Plenty more pupils are desperate to graduate.

Don't laugh too soon at the limping tournament that will unfold over the coming weeks and months, fixtures fitted in whenever there is a free slot. A far, far bigger game is afoot. You have been warned.

Born in Lahore, brought up in Rotherham, Kamran Abbasi is assistant editor of the British Medical Journal

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd