Blogging about an India v Pakistan rivalry is always controversial, but I wanted to get this out. Ever since the bifurcation of British India in 1947, the two countries have been at loggerheads - in terms of war, conflicts, military standoffs and of of course, the Kashmir standoff. And it is only amplified on the cricketing field when the two teams meet - they try to overlook the emotions surrounding the game and only focus on the game of Cricket to get one over the other. India currently holds a 7-0 record in the Cricket World Cup tournaments further highlighting Pakistan's desperation to get a hold on that record and do something about it.
H2H, Pakistan has a lead over India in terms of victories in ODI cricket with 74 wins v India's 56. Pakistan and India had not played each other between 1961 and 1977 owing to two major wars in 1965 and 1971. The 1999 Kargil War and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks have also interrupted cricketing ties between the two nations. India and Pakistan now only meet at ICC events after the BCCI had decided to boycott any bilateral series with Pakistan owing to government pressure and with the government issuing a bill preventing the Indian players from going across the border for a cricket match owing mostly to security reasons. Players in both sides routinely face intense pressure to win and are most of the times, threatened by extreme reactions when they lose the match. Many a time, these cricket matches are a means to achieve cricket diplomacy - a means to improve relations between the two countries - by allowing the Heads of States to exchange visits and avid cricket followers from either country to travel to the other to watch the matches live! Politics and cricket are never far apart - Imran Khan, Pakistan's Prime Minister, also captained them to World Cup glory in 1992.
So, how big is the rivalry really? It draws an audience of almost 10 times that of the Super Bowl; 100 times the NBA Finals. Only the UEFA Champions League will top that this year. People reschedule their weddings and important personal days and put up big screens for people to turn up in order to avoid not missing out on the India v Pakistan game. Close to 3 million people had applied for the 650,000 tickets available across the whole ICC CWC 2019 tournament, with the India v Pakistan game the most requested of the lot - even more than the Final! 10,000 Indian fans traveled from around the world and 5% of the population of England is of Indian/ Pakistani descent, adding more clamor for tickets to the mega-event. 800,000 people applied for tickets and these were sold out in 48 hours of their release. The last time Pakistan and India played in England, they were still at war with one another - yet, the game was played, the crowd and the players played the game professionally amid an atmosphere of joy, and not tension.
Where is the rivalry currently? Barely 4 months after almost going to war, today's fixture was almost in doubt. In February, a suicide attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 42 paramilitary troops with the Pakistan based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claiming responsibility. In response, India launched an air raid in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, claiming to have targeted a JeM "training center". Both sides then deployed fighter jets resulting in an Indian aircraft being shot down and the pilot captured. The pilot's return by Pakistan a few days later helped subside the tension but there were calls for Pakistan to be thrown out of the World Cup that were rejected by the ICC. Former Indian cricketers and Bollywood celebrities took to social media to break off all ties with Pakistan, including on the cricket field. Calls for boycotting the match were driven by agenda driven memorandum and they came at a time when people were trying to make political capital out of the situation, especially with the Pulwama attack's close proximity to the Indian General Elections that resulted in a landslide win for PM Modi's BJP.
The loss of lives, action by India's armed forces, the capture of the pilot - it all caused a surge in nationalistic feelings. Obviously, when families of those who lost their lives at the borders watch the teams play cricket, it won't be a pleasant situation for them - but, efforts should be made possible to engage and sports could have been something to help achieve that. India's players took the decision to pay tribute to lost lives by sporting army camouflage caps in a match against Australia. The ICC refused to sanction the Indian team, claiming that the team had sought permission to use caps as part of a "fundraising drive". India's WK and former World Cup winning captain, MS Dhoni was also told by the ICC to remove military insignia from his gloves during the World Cup. This is symptomatic of the hardening of national identity in recent years, and the fact that overt displays of patriotism have a special currency. There has also been an angry response from Indian supporters after a Pakistani mobile network provider aired an advertisement featuring a man that resembled the Indian pilot who was captured earlier this year.
Due to the politicization of cricket, it has become an emotional sport in both countries nowadays. We need to first depoliticize the sport and then educate our masses to take sport as a sport - where, there has to be a winner and a loser (barring any rained out matches that was a looming threat in today's match) and not as a war between two nuclear rivals. There is also a need to educate the players to just be players and not become soldiers of their countries. The two recent incidents may encourage a negative trend among players of other countries. Ultimately, this may lead to more politicization of cricket which is doing more damage to the sport than any good. Cricket is just a unifying vehicle - people get behind their countries to show a lot of passion and emotion - it is a wonderful opportunity to both countries to showcase their talents and play the game in good spirits.
H2H, Pakistan has a lead over India in terms of victories in ODI cricket with 74 wins v India's 56. Pakistan and India had not played each other between 1961 and 1977 owing to two major wars in 1965 and 1971. The 1999 Kargil War and the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks have also interrupted cricketing ties between the two nations. India and Pakistan now only meet at ICC events after the BCCI had decided to boycott any bilateral series with Pakistan owing to government pressure and with the government issuing a bill preventing the Indian players from going across the border for a cricket match owing mostly to security reasons. Players in both sides routinely face intense pressure to win and are most of the times, threatened by extreme reactions when they lose the match. Many a time, these cricket matches are a means to achieve cricket diplomacy - a means to improve relations between the two countries - by allowing the Heads of States to exchange visits and avid cricket followers from either country to travel to the other to watch the matches live! Politics and cricket are never far apart - Imran Khan, Pakistan's Prime Minister, also captained them to World Cup glory in 1992.
So, how big is the rivalry really? It draws an audience of almost 10 times that of the Super Bowl; 100 times the NBA Finals. Only the UEFA Champions League will top that this year. People reschedule their weddings and important personal days and put up big screens for people to turn up in order to avoid not missing out on the India v Pakistan game. Close to 3 million people had applied for the 650,000 tickets available across the whole ICC CWC 2019 tournament, with the India v Pakistan game the most requested of the lot - even more than the Final! 10,000 Indian fans traveled from around the world and 5% of the population of England is of Indian/ Pakistani descent, adding more clamor for tickets to the mega-event. 800,000 people applied for tickets and these were sold out in 48 hours of their release. The last time Pakistan and India played in England, they were still at war with one another - yet, the game was played, the crowd and the players played the game professionally amid an atmosphere of joy, and not tension.Where is the rivalry currently? Barely 4 months after almost going to war, today's fixture was almost in doubt. In February, a suicide attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 42 paramilitary troops with the Pakistan based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claiming responsibility. In response, India launched an air raid in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, claiming to have targeted a JeM "training center". Both sides then deployed fighter jets resulting in an Indian aircraft being shot down and the pilot captured. The pilot's return by Pakistan a few days later helped subside the tension but there were calls for Pakistan to be thrown out of the World Cup that were rejected by the ICC. Former Indian cricketers and Bollywood celebrities took to social media to break off all ties with Pakistan, including on the cricket field. Calls for boycotting the match were driven by agenda driven memorandum and they came at a time when people were trying to make political capital out of the situation, especially with the Pulwama attack's close proximity to the Indian General Elections that resulted in a landslide win for PM Modi's BJP.The loss of lives, action by India's armed forces, the capture of the pilot - it all caused a surge in nationalistic feelings. Obviously, when families of those who lost their lives at the borders watch the teams play cricket, it won't be a pleasant situation for them - but, efforts should be made possible to engage and sports could have been something to help achieve that. India's players took the decision to pay tribute to lost lives by sporting army camouflage caps in a match against Australia. The ICC refused to sanction the Indian team, claiming that the team had sought permission to use caps as part of a "fundraising drive". India's WK and former World Cup winning captain, MS Dhoni was also told by the ICC to remove military insignia from his gloves during the World Cup. This is symptomatic of the hardening of national identity in recent years, and the fact that overt displays of patriotism have a special currency. There has also been an angry response from Indian supporters after a Pakistani mobile network provider aired an advertisement featuring a man that resembled the Indian pilot who was captured earlier this year.
Due to the politicization of cricket, it has become an emotional sport in both countries nowadays. We need to first depoliticize the sport and then educate our masses to take sport as a sport - where, there has to be a winner and a loser (barring any rained out matches that was a looming threat in today's match) and not as a war between two nuclear rivals. There is also a need to educate the players to just be players and not become soldiers of their countries. The two recent incidents may encourage a negative trend among players of other countries. Ultimately, this may lead to more politicization of cricket which is doing more damage to the sport than any good. Cricket is just a unifying vehicle - people get behind their countries to show a lot of passion and emotion - it is a wonderful opportunity to both countries to showcase their talents and play the game in good spirits.
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