It’s been a long wait to see India and Pakistan playing eachother in a bilateral cricket series. But who can forget the 2004-05 ODI seriesplayed in India. India won the first two matches with Mahendra Singh Dhoni’sblitzkrieg 148 at Vishakhapatnam. Pakistan ended up winning the series 4-2. Thefollowing series in 2005-06, played in Pakistan, was won by India 4-1. It’sYuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who helped India to clinch the series.Pakistani players even took part in the first edition of the Indian PremierLeague (IPL) in 2008.
The November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks changed thesituation altogether. After the attack, apart from cancellation of politicaldialogue, the Government of India cancelled sports activities with the neighbouringcountry. Pakistani players were barred from playing in the IPL. India refusedto play with Pakistan in the bilateral events or in any other format except inWorld Cup events.
The World Cup underway in England and Wales has brought somehidden facts to the limelight. We are closely watching the Indian and Pakistanicommentators on the Star Sports television. These former cricketers show a lotof respect for each other. There is no animosity at display but appreciation oftalent and good cricket. Listening to Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, IrfanPathan and Sunil Gavaskar or Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Rameez Raja providesyou a different taste of India-Pakistan bonhomie.
Another interesting thing that happened during these dayswas the retirement of Yuvraj Singh from international cricket. Soon afterYuvraj announced his retirement, Shoaib Akhtar in a YouTube message bided himadieu by saying: “Yuvraj is a rockstar, a match winner and a very goodfriend….always found him as an elegant batsman. He’s a Punjabi and speaks ourlanguage……I remember that he used to play very fluently. Yuvi always knew a lotabout cricket. Yuvraj has done wonders for his nation. He was an integral partof India’s 2011 World Cup triumph and his six 6’s against Stuart Broad willalways be remembered. He is very patriotic and he will always remain thebiggest match-winner. I wish him all the very best for his future”.
Responding to this heartwarming video, Yuvraj tweeted:”Thanks payan for your lovely wishes. Trust me; every time you ran into bowl atme it was terrifying! Had to gather a lot of courage to face you. We had somegreat battles will always cherish those moments.”
My inner belieF is that people in the sub-continent wouldlike to see India and Pakistan playing cricket regularly. Amartya Sen, in hisbook Identity & Violence narrates: “During the Pakistani team’s tour ofIndia in 2005, when Pakistan lost the first two one-day matches in the seriesof six, I cheered for Pakistan for the third match, to keep the series aliveand interesting. In the event, Pakistan went well beyond my hopes and won allof the remaining four matches to defeat India soundly by the margin of four totwo (another instance of Pakistan’s ‘extremism’ of which Indians complain somuch!).
As citizens of South Asia we believe that the sports andcultural exchanges should not be kept hostage to political relations. Indo-Pakcricketing ties have helped in bridging the divide, allowing fans anopportunity to visit the other side and enjoy mutual hospitality. In 1987General Zia-ul Haq flew to Jaipur to watch a cricket match. General Musharraffollowed suit almost two decades later, coming to watch an India-Pakistan matchin New Delhi during his state visit in April 2005. Pakistani Prime Minister Mr.Yousuf Raza Gilani and his India counterpart Dr. Manmohan Singh watchedtogether the cricket World Cup semifinal at Mohali in 2011.
Shoaib Akhtar, while interviewing Harbhajan Singh on hisYouTube channel on 15th June 2019, asked him a very intriguing question: “Whathappens to us cricketers on television? When we are at some news channel, whyare there such differences?”
Harbhajan gives a frank reply: “See it depends on who isthere. If you listen to my statements, they are never like that…..politicalcontext should be kept separate. But I have always said that my cricketingheroes are from India, from Pakistan, even from Australia. On further probingHarbhajan said: “A simple match is scandalised like anything. It should be fun.Two countries come together, sit with each other. Enjoy the match together.”
Cricket could help in bringing the two countries together.India cricketers enjoy good following in Pakistan. The heartwarming story of MSDhoni and Mohammad Bashir must make us believe in the innate nature of cricketas a unifier instead of a divider. We wish Imran Khan and Narendra Modi couldwatch a cricket match together in Mumbai or in Lahore anytime soon.
The writer teaches Political Science at GDC Women, Anantnag.Views are personal