Monday, May 20th 05:57 AM IST
 

India-Pakistan cricket has nothing to do with terrorism

Akshaya Mishra

From purely a sport lover’s point of view, there’s nothing more exciting than an India-Pakistan cricket match. Let’s face it, cricket in the subcontinent has lost much of its fizz without regular encounters between the two countries. There should be more of these if not in either of the countries then at least at neutral venues. We know the bilateral equations between the South Asian neighbours are turbulent even in the best of the times. The mention of Pakistan raises a lot of political heat in certain quarters in India and vice versa. A game is not going to change any of that for a long time, till at least Pakistan emerges as a stable, reliable political entity. But why make cricket the victim? Why starve cricket lovers of their dose of thrill? If the matches help easing bilateral tension even in some minor way, it is always welcome.read less read more

Ashish Magotra

Think India versus Pakistan and it immediately conjures up images of not only great sporting encounters but also of terrorism and acts of terror. It is impossible to separate the two in the minds of most Indians or Pakistanis because even though sport and terrorism are on the opposite side of the thought spectrum, in this case they are joined at the hip. It can never be only about sport because when our cricketers are on the field, we are hoping to use them as a medium to settle our political fights as well. And if its really only about cricket then why were the two nations not playing each other for so long?read less read more