Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the second Asian Test Championship between August 2001 and March 2002. India pulled out of the tournament due to political tensions with Pakistan.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka both played Bangladesh in the two round robin matches. A win was worth 16 or 12 points, a tie 8 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. Additionally, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling and batting performances. Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified for the final after convincingly beating Bangladesh in Multan and Colombo, respectively.
The final was held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 8 wickets to win the second Asian Test championship.
Pre-championship build-up
India's pullout
The 2001–02 Asian Test Championship was originally planned to include all four Asian ICC full-members (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). However, before the tournament started, India's participation was put in doubt.
Initially, the BCCI requested the ACC to change the venue of the final (Dhaka) of the championship. The BCCI requested that if Bangladesh did not reach the final, the match should not be held in Dhaka, and if India and Pakistan were to meet in the final, it should be held in India, and if an India–Sri Lanka final was to take place, it should be held in Sri Lanka. The BCCI stated that if the venue for the final was not changed it would be difficult for India to participate in the championship. India insists on changing venue for ATC final 5 August 2001
Following this, the BCCI commented that India's participation in the championship and selection of the team would depend on permission from the Indian government. Selection of team for ATC after government's permission: Lele 11 August 2001 India's delay in confirming their participation in the championship resulted in the ACC threatening that the tournament would go ahead as scheduled without India. However the BCCI reacted strongly to the threat, claiming that "[a] decision will be taken shortly" and that the delay doid not "[construe] that India has pulled out of the championship". India cannot be bullied into taking part in ATC: Uma Bharti 20 August 2001
A week before the championship was scheduled to begin, the BCCI announced that India would not participate in the tournament. This decision was reported to have been taken by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other government ministers after a meeting with the BCCI. ACC unhappy over decision 22 August 2001 It was widely understood that India's withdrawal was due to political tensions between India and Pakistan. Indian sports minister Uma Bharti stated that cricketing ties between the two countries would resume after the normalization of their political ties. Cricketing ties will resume only after normalisation of Indo-Pak ties: Bharti 23 August 2001 Indian players' security and safety in Pakistan was also noted to be a major concern. Dawood was behind India's pull out from ATC: Bharti 24 August 2001
As expected, the ACC reacted angrily to India's decision; it confirmed that the tournament would be rescheduled and go ahead with only three teams. ACC unhappy over decision 22 August 2001 Jagmohan Dalmiya, the chairman of the ACF, the marketing arm of the ACC, described the government's decision not to allow the Indian team to participate in the Asian Test Championship as an internal matter: "It is purely an internal matter between the Government of India and the Indian Cricket Board. The ACC or the ACF has no jurisdiction to deal with the respective governments. I have no comment to make on the decision." India's decision 'internal matter': Dalmiya 22 August 2001
The PCB expressed regret over India's decision not to participate in the championship. The PCB chairman, Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia, was dismayed over the Indian government's decision to go back on their commitment, which was a guarantee that India would have no objection playing multilateral tournaments which included Pakistan. Pakistan's dismay on India's non-participation Pakistan Cricket Board 22 August 2001
The ICC was expected to sanction or fine the BCCI for their actions. India's absence unfortunate, say captains 29 August 2001 The ACC and PCB were expected to experience a financial impact due to India's decision. Pakistan in particular were unhappy since Pakistan's tour of India in 1999 helped raise millions of dollars in revenue for the BCCI. India had already cancelled a tour to Pakistan earlier in the year. Imran urges ICC to penalize India 31 August 2001 Additionally, after the first Test, the Bangladesh Cricket Board reported that they were fearing bankruptcy due to India's withdrawal from the tournament. The director of the BCB, Ashraf-ul-Haq, commented that funds that would have been generated by the ACC from the championship would be used to invest in Bangladesh cricket as well as other minor countries, without which the BCB faced serious financial problems. Ashraf planned on condemning the BCCI in the following ICC executive and ACC meetings. BCB faces bankruptcy 1 September 2001
Former Pakistan Test players, including Intikhab Alam, Haseeb Ahsan, and Wasim Akram, accused India of withdrawing due to fear of losing to Pakistan. Pakistan Test stars accuse India of double standards 23 August 2001 Tournament captains, Waqar Younis (Pakistan) and Naimur Rahman (Bangladesh) expressed India's absence as a disappointment. India's absence unfortunate, say captains 29 August 2001
Appointment of John Reid as match referee The Pakistan Cricket Board protested the appointment of John Reid as match referee for the 1st match of the 2001–02 Asian Test Championship. John Reid had been involved in controversies involving the Pakistan team; he had fined and suspended Waqar Younis and Azhar Mahmood for ball tampering and had been involved in reporting Shoaib Akhtar's suspect bowling action to the ICC.
Pakistan used the precedent that Sri Lanka had successfully removed Australian umpire Darrell Hair from their matches during the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Hair had called Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing during a tour of Australia. Match referee John Reid draws protest from Pakistan Lynn McConnell 21 August 2001
However, ICC policies do not permit any member country to veto the appointment of independent referees or umpires. ICC confirms John Reid appointment for Asian Test Championship ICC Media Release 21 August 2001 The ICC rejected Pakistan's formal complaint, and the ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed assured that the PCB had confirmed that John Reid would receive the same courtesies that are extended to all ICC officials visiting Pakistan. ICC rejects Pakistan protest 22 August 2001
John Reid did not comment on the protest, but expressed disappointment and that he was still available to go to the match and do the job he had been appointed to.
Squads 1st Test Bangladesh cricketers arrive 22 August 20012nd Test Bangladesh Squad1st Test PCB announces 16 members squad for 1st ATC Test PCB 25 August 20012nd Test Pakistan Squad1st Test Ruchira and Pushpakumara recalled for the Bangladesh Test Rex Clementine 4 September 20012nd Test Sri Lanka Squad Naimur Rahman (C) Javed Omar Mehrab Hossain Mohammad Ashraful Al Sahariar Aminul Islam Habibul Bashar Akram Khan Khaled Mashud (wk) Enamul Haque Moni Hasibul Hossain Manjural Islam Ranjan Das Mohammad Sharif Naimur Rahman (C) Javed Omar Mehrab Hossain Mohammad Ashraful Al Sahariar Aminul Islam Habibul Bashar Akram Khan Khaled Mashud (wk) Enamul Haque Moni Hasibul Hossain Manjural Islam Ranjan Das Mohammad Sharif Waqar Younis (c) Saeed Anwar Taufeeq Umar Inzamam-ul-Haq Mohammad Yousuf Faisal Iqbal Younis Khan Abdul Razzaq Rashid Latif (wk) Danish Kaneria Wasim Akram Irfan Fazil Shoaib Malik Mohammad Akram Waqar Younis (c) Saeed Anwar Taufeeq Umar Inzamam-ul-Haq Mohammad Yousuf Faisal Iqbal Shahid Afridi Abdul Razzaq Rashid Latif (wk) Saqlain Mushtaq Shoaib Malik Mohammad Zahid Shoaib Akhtar Mohammad Sami Sanath Jayasuriya (c) Marvan Atapattu Michael Vandort Mahela Jayawardene Kumar Sangakkara (wk) Hashan Tillakaratne Thilan Samaraweera Chaminda Vaas Muttiah Muralitharan Ravindra Pushpakumara Ruchira Perera Russel Arnold Avishka Gunawardene Suresh Perera Dilhara Fernando Sanath Jayasuriya (c) Marvan Atapattu Michael Vandort Mahela Jayawardene Kumar Sangakkara (wk) Hashan Tillakaratne Thilan Samaraweera Chaminda Vaas Muttiah Muralitharan Ravindra Pushpakumara Ruchira Perera Russel Arnold Charitha Buddhika Nuwan Zoysa Dulip Liyanage Upul Chandana Tillakaratne Dilshan
Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed were left out of the initial Pakistan training squad before the tournament. This was done to make room for younger players, however, Akram did feature in the first Test match but failed to record a wicket. Wasim Akram dropped from training squad as Pakistan look to the future Bloomberg 31 July 2001 Prior to the championship, the Pakistan Cricket Board formally announced that Richard Pybus would be the new coach of the Pakistan team for at least three series. PCB confirms Pybus as Pakistan Team coach Pakistan Cricket Board 16 August 2001
Scoring system The scoring system used for the 2001–02 Asian Test Championship was a revised version of the first system used in the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship. The Asian Cricket Council approved the revisions brought forward by the technical committee compromising of Sunil Gavaskar (India), Zaheer Abbas(Pakistan), Ashantha De Mel (Sri Lanka) and Gazi Ashraf (Bangladesh). Points for winning the match were kept at 12, however additional points were given for an innings victory. Points for a tie were increased from 6 to 8. ACC approves points system for ATC 20 August 2001
+PointsResult PointsWin12Win by an innings16Tie8Draw/Loss0
Bonus points were awarded to teams for good bowling and batting performances (see table below). A maximum of 24 points could be gained in one match (including the 16 match winning points). The bonus bowling and batting points were confined to the first 100 overs of the first innings. The two teams with the highest number of points qualify for the final. If two teams are tied on points, the team with a better run rate in the first 100 overs will go through. If the final ends in a draw, the side with the higher bonus points will win. Points at stake in the Asian Test Championship 11 February 1999 By Our Special Representative For the 2001–02 Championship, the bonus point system was changed, 400+ runs and 10 wickets to achieve maximum points (increased for 350+ and 9–10 from the previous championship).
+Bonus Points1 Runs Scored Bonus Points Wickets Taken Bonus Points 400+ 4 10 4 350–399 3 8–9 3 300–349 2 6–7 2 250–299 1 5 11Assessed on the first 100 overs of the 1st innings
1st Test: Pakistan v Bangladesh
The first Test match of the Championship was between Bangladesh and Pakistan. It was held in Multan, at the newly renovated $2.5 million Multan Cricket Stadium. This was the first Test match to be held in Multan since 1980–81 when the West Indies drew a match with Pakistan. Being the first match in the stadium, the nature of the pitch and ground was unknown, however a result was expected. ATC Test: Pakistan favourites in the heat at Multan (Preview) Rafi Nasim 28 August 2001