Daily Times

I remember the scene too vividly. It was Lahore, and I was in one of those huff and puff Gulberg markets packed with an ocean of human limbs. Not a soul laughed, as summer was at its full pelt. Both trees and tongues thirsted for water. I heard women, both young and old, busting their lungs as they complained about hefty bills they were being charged by their tailors. I saw college students brazenly curving through perspiring crowds on their two wheelers. I heard shop owners ranting and customers quibbling, in what seemed to be a chorus of complete mess. Then, in less than no time, at the stroke of a clock, the whole caboodle hushed into graveyard silence. The markets were religiously abandoned. What on earth could have happened? ‘India Pakistan ka match shuroo ho gayahai’ (India Pakistan’s match has started), howled one gentleman, whisking past me as he hitched to his radio set. Cutting my cackle short: the incident involved a small sample in Lahore who, in a split second, went through a rapid transition in their priorities for that evening. However, their sentiments toward Cricket represent those of billions across the Sub-continent. Such is the engaging power of an India-Pakistan game. It is the ultimate test of nerves, not only for those 22 souls, found flattering away with a Cricket ball in the middle, but also for those billions of Cricket lovers, who, just for the love of the game, completely lose their marbles.

Some good news for all of us cravers of India-Pakistan encounters, as the two sides gang up for the long awaited match to be played at Birmingham tomorrow. Khushwant Singh, the legendary pen wielder, once said that “no one has ever invented a condom for the pen”. Following Singh’s grit and perkiness, I pluck up my courage and address the relevant counsel in India: please put your thinking caps on and call off your vows of putting a squeeze on Pakistan’s Cricket. Why should you, much like your politicians, keep the pot boiling and let Cricket suffer? Is there no force in India willing to ring down the curtain and soar above the usual skirting issues between the two countries? You must do this as citizens of the world and most importantly for the greater good of the game in this region.

It must be noted that back in 2014, Pakistan Cricket Board was one of the most vehement pushers of the “Big Three” phenomenon, and in response, India had solemnly cut a deal of playing six bilateral series with Pakistan between 2015-2023. Sadly, even the first of the six promised battles are yet to see the light of day. Given the success of the Indian Premier League, India’s massive Cricket infrastructure and its large Cricket viewership, there is no denying of India’s stature as the game’s biggest money spinner. In today’s arrangements, a tour made by India, fetches significant moolah for the host country’s kitty. This means that India’s reluctance to play Pakistan and honour its pledge will cost Pakistan a dear sum, roughly to an amount that comes within kissing distance of $100 million.

I pluck up my courage and address the relevant counsel in India: please put your thinking caps on and call off your vows of putting a squeeze on Pakistan’s Cricket

I ask, is it not India’s responsibility as Cricket’s biggest financial administrator to steer the game into safer directions and completely rescue it from all political filth and flirting?  The question that rankles my brain is: Why is India locking horns with Pakistan tomorrow? Why only in Birmingham? Does her anti-Pakistan pontification and bashing lose its application in a multilateral tournament like the ICC Champions Trophy?  Whatever the logic, I, as an ordinary folk, and long-time relisher of an India-Pakistan game, look forward to a riveting day of Cricket this coming Sunday. Let’s savour it, as taking a worm’s eye view of things, it may well be a one off!

The writer is an alumnus of University of Cambridge and previously worked as a journalist in London. He has also played for Pakistan’s junior Cricket team. He can be reached at bjsadiq46@gmail.com