The game of cricket has been one of the biggest victims of India-Pakistan bickering and dip in relations that have progressively worsened since the 2008 Mumbai attacks
AIJAZ ZAKA SYED | Caravan Daily
[dropcap]G[/dropcap]od, if there be cricket in heaven, let there also be rain, earnestly prayed Alec Douglas-Home, the late British prime minister.
A gift from our colonial masters, cricket has been a magnificent, enduring obsession across South Asia – and wherever South Asians have gone. When cricket fever grips the region, which is now like all through the year, you find just about everyone, from stuffy television pundits to man in the street, forever discussing the finer points and nuances of the game.
Although I come from a cricket-obsessed country like India, I belong to the rare species that isn’t crazy about cricket. In a region where cricket is a religion and a way of life and modest men like Sachin Tendulkar are deified, somehow one couldn’t quite get bitten by the cricket bug, let alone get hooked to the wretched game.
I still find it hard to believe that people can spend all day glued to their television sets, or worse, skip work to suffer the heat and dust of a South Asian stadium for a cricket match. It is even more perplexing when it comes to Test cricket. How can anyone, for God’s sake, spend four to five days chasing a ball?
Yes, there have been times when you couldn’t resist the temptation to join the excitement of an India-Pakistan clash, which seems like ages ago.
As a teen, it was infinitely exhilarating to watch the inimitable Imran Khan bowl and bat like a dream. And when he wasn’t doing that, he would just stand there like a rock, the lord of all he surveyed. The majestic Pathan went on to win the World Cup for Pakistan. One only wishes he had been as successful off the field in the cesspool of politics.
One also often found oneself rooting for the fellow Hyderabadi, Mohammed Azharuddin, the stylish batsman and one of the most successful skippers India has had. And yes, who could resist the charm of the Little Master and the way the magician with the willow cast a spell on a billion people.
Over the past year or so though, there has been just one player who has captured the nation’s – and the world’s – imagination like few players have. And what a magnificent player Virat Kohli has turned out to be – constantly excelling and leading from the front and always, always delivering for the team.
Unlike his more famous and calculating predecessors and peers, Kohli seldom seems to play for his own glory. That is perhaps why it is such a joy to watch him play even for the uninitiated like us. Look at the number of records he already has under his belt for his young years! And at the rate he is going, he could outplay and outshine greats like Tendulkar in no time.
The great Imran Khan, who has an eye for spotting rare talent, already thinks Kohli is the greatest batsman India has produced and that he is even better than Tendulkar as he always delivers in the face of great adversity.
And when India and Pakistan are playing, it is not just a game. It becomes a virtual war, a reflection of the many real ones that the South Asian twins have fought since they parted ways 69 years ago. Indeed, more than the Indians, it is perhaps Pakistanis who seem to go all hyper when they take on the big neighbor, turning it into a do-or-die battle and incredibly often emerging victorious.
In doing so, Pakistan seems to make up for all the areas in which it cannot match the big twin – in sheer size and numbers and in other ways.
In the past few years though, cricket in Pakistan has been steadily going down the hill, clearly in sync with the general state of affairs in the country. Hobbling from one leadership crisis to another and from one controversy to the next, the former champions have been going through the worst phase in their history. Perpetually being in the news for all the wrong reasons over the past few years, it hasn’t been the best of times to be a Pakistani.
Fighting the monsters from the past and repeatedly betrayed by their politicians, coupled with the breakdown of national institutions and humiliation by the so-called allies, Pakistanis have been fast losing hope and faith in their future as a nation.
No wonder cynicism has become the second nature of many Pakistanis today. Open the opinion pages of any Pakistani newspaper or tune in to a television network and you are overwhelmed by the all-pervasive despair and the talk of doom and gloom by all those eggheads. And to think this is a young nation, the promised land that was earned with epic sacrifices!
Amid this deepening sense of desolation and all-round hopelessness, the brilliant feats by Pakistani players often lifted the national mood and the dark blanket of despondency. Perhaps, never before anywhere in the world has a sport got so entwined and identified with the prestige and well-being of a nation.
The game of cricket became a metaphor for a nation’s quest for dignity and journey of self-discovery. By winning on pitches across the region and around the world, Pakistan’s dangerous eleven seemed to make up for the failures on other fronts. They kept the fighting spirit of a young nation alive, boosting its self-belief and self-respect, always defying great odds and adverse conditions.
Lately though like everything else, even this national passion appears to have been affected by the mood and state of affairs in other spheres. Which is hardly surprising. Sports persons are after all human and an essential part of their societies.
From the Asia Cup to the World Cup to the T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s performance has been incredibly pathetic and shocking. Except for some individual performances, the whole team collapsed like a house of cards. It is hard to believe it is the same side that once inspired fear and awe in teams across the world.
This was only to be expected given the fact that most international teams including India have been avoiding Pakistan because of security fears, especially after the episode with Sri Lanka team. As a result, the national team hasn’t been getting enough international exposure and experience. This is a vicious cycle that Pakistan has to break and soon.
It is a real shame that India and Pakistan have not played in each other’s territory for many years now although there have been some occasional T20 encounters in India. Pakistani players have also been kept out of the wildly popular money-spinner IPL that attracts talent from around the world.
The game of cricket has been one of the biggest victims of bilateral bickering and dip in relations that have progressively worsened after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Only those who have experienced an India-Pakistan encounter and are familiar with its heady atmospherics would understand what a monumental loss this has been!
And this is not just a loss for cricket lovers in Pakistan but for both India and Pakistan and their billion plus people. Indeed, this is a collective loss for all the people of South Asia who have so much in common. Whatever their issues and problems, India and Pakistan must not allow them to eclipse their people-to-people relations. No victory is worth it. Ties of sports, culture and commerce can help smooth out many a knot that politicians and diplomats cannot.
