BLOOD & SPORT

FOCUS: INDO-PAK CRICKET

- Rajdeep Sardesai

‘Blood and water won't flow together...’ warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after the Pahalgam terror attack while taking the contentious decision to suspend the six decades old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

Well, blood may not flow with water but it surely does with sport. Ina fortnight from now, the Asia Cup cricket will begin with all eyes on the marquee India-Pakistan clash. The government has green-flagged the matches, claiming that they are making a distinction between bilateral engagements and multilateral events, while also rather piously claiming to “position India as a preferred destination for hosting international sporting events.”

In principle, the government is only adhering to the unwritten guidelines followed since 2012: the only cricket encounters between the two countries since have been in global tournaments. As a longstanding advocate of Indo-Pak sporting ties, I ought to be welcoming the government's stand without demur. Cricket binds the subcontinent, sports is meant to be a bridge-builder. Some of my most cherished moments as a cricket fan have involved India-Pakistan matches. From Anil Kumble’s ten wickets at the Kotla, the heroics of a Sachin Tendulkar in the 2003 World Cup to Javed Miandad’s last ball six in Sharjah, Indo-Pak cricket has been the ultimate roller-coaster ride of emotion, one where competing nationalisms are tied into fractious history, past and present. An Imran Khan versus a Sunil Gavaskar, a Shoaib Akhtar versus a Virender Sehwag, Indo-Pak cricket has served up many a classic contest whose impact stretches far beyond the boundary.