Indo-Pak cricket edit

Mar 30 2011, 2336
A nation of a cricket-crazed billion was ready to go to war at the opening of the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan. Cricket is a gentleman’s game; it is supposed to promote camaraderie, friendship — and, by extension, peace. But if past records are anything to go by, the game has been more war than peace. And, perhaps, an indignant fan may even exclaim un­believingly: “Game?” For a lot of those waving flags and blowing horns in the stadium, it is not just a game. That becomes pretty much evident when a young man from Jharkhand expresses his willingness to sell his kidneys for a ticket to the hallowed stands of Mohali, or when a Pakistani businessman declares that he would have a heart attack if he didn’t get one. Best-selling author Chetan Bhagat, who made a point of commenting on every new dev­elopment in the match on his Twitter profile, succinctly called it ‘the country’s biggest mass bunk ever’, while sliding in a jibe that ‘blue is definitely a better colour than parrot green’. When arch rivals like India and Pakistan play, the ‘sportsman spirit’ goes for a toss — off the field, that is. It is not just the Indians who charge on with battle cries; the Pakistanis pretty much match up to them. Placards that read, “Save the drama for your mama, we are here” say it all. Pakistani writer Muniba has been quoted as calling this match ‘war over cricket’, and adding that what happens in the final is ‘irrelevant’. Obviously, in the minds of the cricket-crazy fans, Mumbai is not the host of the final, Mohali is. In a way, for a part of the Indian subcontinent, Mohali will be the final. For the fans of the team that gets knocked out, the World Cup will be over. So yes, the final will definitely become ‘irrelevant’ for these worshippers of the demi-gods out on the pitch. But other than the patriots, there are people on both sides who root for the neighbour. Social networking sites are rife with people fighting with one another over their favourite team. Patriots, of course, have nationalism as their one cause for support, while the ‘others’ explain their stand by calling themselves true lovers of cricket: they will not let nationalism get in the way of rooting for the ‘better’ team. Bouts of name-calling and ridiculing occur as a natural consequence, and are definitely the online version of fistfights in the age of Facebook and Twitter. No wonder, there are over 3,000 policemen deployed in Chandigarh, which has also been turned into a no-fly zone. But there are always examples to show that the war need not be a literal one; that there can be occasions when cricket actually does become just that—a game for goodwill. Can anyone forget the sight of the tricolour being waved madly by a purely Pakistani audience during the Indo-Pak ‘Friendship Series’ in Pakistan in the year 2004? That was definitely one for sportsmanship. We in India might not be able to tolerate so much of ‘loving thy neighbour’, but we could take a leaf out of our prime minister’s book and raise a toast to goodwill, too. Of course, not too tame a toast, for that wouldn’t do justice to the game. Maybe a little splash to each other’s face would do.