Updated at: 1633 PST, Thursday, February 17, 2011
MUMBAI: The extremist Indian party, Shiv Sena, has once again threatened Pakistani cricketers few hours before the opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.Former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi while talking to reporters here on Thursday said, "Bal Thackeray will decide whether to allow Pakistan team to play or not".This is the latest expression of extremism by the Shiv Sena leaders as Joshi clearly put question mark on the staging of ICC World Cup final match if Pakistan would qualify for it."You all know Sena chief Bal Thackeray's views. If the Pakistan team reaches the final, whether to allow them to play, the Sena chief will decide," Joshi told reporters.Thankfully, Pakistan and India are placed in separate groups otherwise the controversy would have erupted the mega event at its very early stage.The renovated Wankhede Stadium of Mumbai will host the World Cup 2011 final on April 2, 2011.Shiv Sena have had objected Pakistan-India cricket ties in the past and in 1991, Shishir Shinde along with other extremist Hindus dug up the pitch in the Wankhede Stadium in a bid to stop India playing cricket with Pakistan.