It’s just not cricket
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Mr Sartaj Aziz’s pronouncement on cricketing ties between Pakistan and India tells us that it is not always useful to mix politics with sport.
The adviser to the prime minister on foreign affairs and national security says there can be no cricket between the two countries under the current circumstances.
His words are a troubling sign of just how long it could take for the two countries to prepare the ground for even a tentative exchange. And if anyone in recent times had high hopes of cricket playing its customary and often celebrated role of bridging the gap, these have been effectively dashed by those who make or implement national policies in New Delhi and Islamabad.
Also read: Sartaj Aziz rules out possibility of cricket series with India
This is a tangle beyond the reach of the game to sort out, the recent flurry of statements predicting no-play for an unforeseen period of time between the two sides.
If anything, it appears that both sides are using cricket as a metaphor to convey just how determined they are to stay at a distance from and hostile to one another.
Although there were long years of no matches between the two sides, Pakistan and India have ‘clashed’ on the cricket ground in the worst of times. In the period beginning the late 1970s, the two countries found ways to play with each other even when some patriots would rather have them fight it out on the borders.
Thus, the inability of Delhi and Islamabad — represented as they are by the BCCI and PCB — to play today demonstrates just how bad the relationship is.
It would be pointless to wish for cricket to be seen as an independent entity that can chart its own course away from the trajectory of Pakistan-India ties that is determined by the growing unease between the two neighbours at the political level.
It is unfortunate how politics affects sporting ties. But that is the way it is. As Mr Aziz remarked, some thawing at the political level is absolutely necessary before cricket can take over.
Published in Dawn, October 7th , 2015
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Comments (44) Closed
Oct 07, 2015 02:17am
Yup, we Indians are generally not interested in playing cricket or any other sports or similar activities with Pakistan until Pakistan take some tangible action against so called non- state actors who are involved in killing people in India. It seems as you will see in comments section here that generally now Pakistanis are also against playing with India and we are happy if Pakistan stop asking to play against us everyday. We all are in agreement so please stop raising same issue again and again.
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Oct 07, 2015 02:50am
Comparing today's cricket with 90's looks disingenuous. Cricket now is more than an amateur sport, it's big business/multi-billion dollar industry. In short it's less about sport and more about trade.
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Oct 07, 2015 03:19am
And if anyone in recent times had high hopes of cricket playing its customary and often celebrated role of bridging the gap
Cricket does not bring two nations closer, it creates more rift and rivalry , hence better to stay without contact and at peace.
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Oct 07, 2015 03:38am
Just follow the advice given by Sushma Swaraj and everything will fall in place till then play with Afganistan,Zambia, Namibia and Hongkong.
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Oct 07, 2015 04:11am
Indians can never be trusted...we should have learned this by now
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Oct 07, 2015 04:23am
I agree with Mr Aziz. India should not play with Pakistan
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Oct 07, 2015 07:01am
Cricket should never be mixed with politics but trade can be? For how long has Pakistan been keeping trade liberalisation hostage to Kashmir but if India doesn't play cricket due to terror attacks, suddenly it becomes non kosher.
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Oct 07, 2015 07:03am
Till Mr.Nawaz Shariff has adviser like Mr Sartaz Aziz ,the relation between India and Pakistan can never improve.
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Oct 07, 2015 08:38am
Its the short sighted, mindless and self aggrandizing bureaucratic babus on both sides which create needles hurdles. Constantly beating the war drums and creating sensation and dramas for purposes known only to the babus.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:02am
No talks on terrorism no kashmir no trade no cricket. Live alone we have better work than engaging with international migraine
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Oct 07, 2015 09:02am
why every day India Pakistan cricket editorial in Pak newspapers?.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:03am
After Modi became the PM, there is so much hostility from the Pakistani side - why? How is this helping Pakistan? Drumming up this negativity is counter productive. This will not make him any less popular in India, or the western world, that is eager to do business with India. Pakistan should learn to accept the reality and work with India to achieve its goals. Complaining will not change anything.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:03am
If Politics should not be mixed with cricket, than why cricket is mixed with commerce (pcb income for survival).
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Oct 07, 2015 09:09am
@Akil Akhtar We have same notion for Pak
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Oct 07, 2015 09:27am
@Gunmaster its has been modi who doesnt want to talk not pakistan! Unfortunately by doing that india has only weakened Nawaz sharif and the pro-peace lobby visavis the military!
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Oct 07, 2015 09:29am
we should not play with india ever.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:35am
@Akil Akhtar No country trusts Pakistan, except China.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:46am
India thinks if pakistan can make huge money by playing with india,it should help in Tapi pipeline & other trade deal.
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Oct 07, 2015 09:48am
Though I am a great admirer of Pakistani Cricket legends and love to see them in action, I think cricket should wait till the relations between two countries improve. No point in advocating for cricket under environment of mistrust and especially, when viewers are also not matured enough. The Indian fans of Pakistani cricket can still watch Pakistani team playing other countries and admire their skill and vice versa. Sometime it is good not to mix patriotism with skills. The people of both countries still have lot to offer and learn from each other.
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Oct 07, 2015 10:02am
The problem is Indians only apply this selective logic to Cricket. I would humbly urge them to apply similar logic (or lack there of) in snooker, kabaddi, bollywood movies premieres, and all other sports and entertainment ventures so to have at least minimum level credibility to their argument. Unfortunately, that will never be the case as India thrives upon the ulterior motives that are behind their ill-advised policy making in this regard. India didn't play Pakistan, tried level best to isolate it from intl. cricket but Pakistan Cricket is back again where it belongs that is among the elites, whereas Indian Cricket was at it's historic misery in Cuttack, fans and players alike. So I don't see India succeeding in any of these cheap tactics.
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Oct 07, 2015 10:02am
stop it pakistan just stop it. Even if we play india we will lose miserably and i can not take that we rather not play india than losing to them.
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Oct 07, 2015 10:39am
@Gunmaster ... well put
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Oct 07, 2015 10:47am
Sartaj Aziz is a seasoned diplomat. After India has rejected cricketing ties becasue of Pak based terroirms affecting India, after Shahyar Khan has begged pleaded and threatened India, visited India twice, then our Mr.Aziz pronounces he big decision. Surely he is telling something isnt it, that insults from India are beyond the bearing capacity of Pak and they are themselves now saying they will cancel the tour. What big egos
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Oct 07, 2015 10:47am
Sports is a direction reflection of the conditions prevailing in the country. India's strategy of isolating Pakistan internationally is working good. It would be foolish of the indians to work against this by engaging in cricket.
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Oct 07, 2015 10:55am
Sport has never succeeded in bridging political differences as the history of Indo/Pak ties has proved.
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Oct 07, 2015 10:57am
Its very clear that PCB needs BCCI very badly to improve their finances. Thats why they are pushing for the series.
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Oct 07, 2015 11:01am
The PCB should just accept that they want to play with India for the sake of revenue nothing else.The money which they will get from India series is way higher than any other series.
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Oct 07, 2015 11:08am
i believe that the political situations between two countries should improve first before playing cricket. Just by playing cricket the political tensions can be reduced. Making India and Pakistan play cricket in such situation is as good as asking Israel and Palestine to play football.
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Oct 07, 2015 11:14am
PCB is in dire straits financially. Expect the so called PCL to be cancelled again.
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Oct 07, 2015 11:45am
Cricket is multi billion dollar business because of common efforts of not one country rather many countries and handful of Indian Bookies, so taking refuge of politics to isolate one partner in crime is only moral by Indian standards.
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Oct 07, 2015 11:53am
@Simran Sprts and Politics should be kept apart. Both countries are are facing their share of problems. It can not be denied that Both India and Pakistan have been involved in deteriorating the security conditions in the other country. But Sprts and arts is what unites us, it has the ability to minimize the tensions and bring people closer to each other. If you bar sports or arts to let people mingle with each other, you are doing nothing but propagating hate. Pakistan is not desperate to play with India. Indian authorities have been desperate to isolate Pak from the Intl Cricket circuit. Be it IPL or any other of their venture.
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Oct 07, 2015 12:23pm
It makes little sense to play cricket in foreign soil by the two teams- India and Pakistan. They should only play in their own countries before their own spectators to generate real excitement. But for this to happen, relationship should improve which does not seem to happen anytime soon
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Oct 07, 2015 01:06pm
It is unfortunate how politics affects sporting ties but isn't it unfortunate how politics affects economic ties? Why no one is speaking about that? Start trading first, sports will follow.
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Oct 07, 2015 01:30pm
Who wants to see india vs pakistan anyway.
All one sided games.
Pakistan is a weak team right now. Beating Zimbabwe Is not a big deal
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Oct 07, 2015 01:33pm
Indian audience provides 80% of Cricket revenue, most of it comes from matches India plays. Not playing India involves huge opportunity costs for the country concerned. IPL has also made third rate cricketers into $ millionaires, which player would let that opportunity go ?
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Oct 07, 2015 01:39pm
good decision ...........
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Oct 07, 2015 01:52pm
@Harsh
Do not worry about us as you will be wasting your time. Do us a favor, treat your Untouchable with some respect.
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Oct 07, 2015 02:12pm
At least Indian and Pakistan Government have found an agreement on this point.
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Oct 07, 2015 05:53pm
Pakistan media and players were always pushing for cricket to be played between two countries. Now it is quite obvious it was only for commercial reasons alone and nothing like acting as a bridge between people of two countries. At long last., Pakistan has also realised that politics and sports are part and parcel of each other. Earlier Pakistan was feignin to be not believing into this fact, but now they have come out with reality.
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Oct 07, 2015 06:29pm
we should stop playing cricket. Then no one will watch cricket in India. So they loose money. Pakistan Zindabad
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Oct 07, 2015 07:54pm
Cricket is a multi-billion dollar business now and the one country that made it so is India. It did not happen when England and Australia ruled the roast. So India has every right to decide whom it will play whether we like it or not. Only a few years back players were paid a pittance, not any more. Today most players make millions of dollars.
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Oct 08, 2015 10:17am
Thank you, Sartaj Sahib. It absolves India from having to say No.
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Oct 08, 2015 10:29am
The British ruled the Sub-Continent for nearly 200 years, in retrospect quite admirably. After Independence we the countries of Sub-Continent continue to fight among ourselves. We simply do not know how to live as humans should. Bring back the Brits.
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Oct 08, 2015 11:03am
Actually, it will be best for the rest of the world if this new stupid setup called "big 3" is banned worldwide. What I mean is that have these 3 nations play cricket among each other, have these 3 have their own world cup and let them have their cake and eat it.
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