Howzatt! PM Modi's cricket diplomacy bowls over Pakistan PM Sharif

Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowled a googly and indulged in shrewd cricket diplomacy on Friday as he telephoned leaders of four South Asian countries which are participating in the cricket world cup starting Saturday. Five South Asian countries, including India, are participating in the world cup and India’s first match is with arch-rivals Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday.

The social media-savvy Prime Minister tweeted about his conversation with the four South Asian heads: “Spoke to President @ashrafghani, PM Sheikh Hasina, PM Nawaz Sharif & President Sirisena. Conveyed my best wishes for the Cricket World Cup.”

In another tweet, PM Modi said: “5 SAARC Nations are playing & are excited about the World Cup. Am sure World Cup will celebrate sportsman spirit & will be a treat for sports lovers.”

In his conversation with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Modi asked the newly-elected President whether he himself had ever played cricket. Ghani laughed and replied in the negative.

Modi told Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that Bangladesh’s top cricketer Shakib al Hasan was very popular in India and reminded her that Hasan is an asset for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL.

To Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, the Prime Minister said top Sri Lankan cricketer Lasith Malinga was very popular in India and also reminded Sirisena that Malinga plays IPL on behalf of Mumbai Indians. The newly elected Sri Lankan President is embarking on his maiden state visit to India next week (15-18 February).

However, Modi reserved his best for his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and told him that he was aware that Sharif had played in a warm-up World Cup match in Pakistan in 1987 alongside the then Pakistani captain Imran Khan, the legendary all-rounder who is now a prominent opposition leader of Pakistan.

Modi’s mention of this small anecdote amused Sharif who conceded that Modi’s information was correct. Sharif remarked: “Kash wo din doobara aate” (Wish those days could come back!).

But Modi did not stop at sharing the 1987 anecdote with Sharif. He took his conversation with Sharif to another level by telling him that he would soon be sending his newly appointed Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to all SAARC nations, including Pakistan.

PM Modi also indicated to Sharif that he intended to resume foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan soon. India had abruptly called off the foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan, scheduled for 25 August, 2014 after Pakistan insisted on talking to Kashmiri separatist group Hurriyat Conference. Prime Minister Modi’s cricket diplomacy is a shrewd move, particularly in context of India-Pakistan relations.

Since India’s unilateral cancellation of the foreign secretary-level talks, India-Pakistan ties have been in a deep freeze. Serious ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the International Border and Line of Control , unprecedented in terms of frequency and intensity since the Kargil War of 1999, had worsened India-Pakistan relations further.

The fact that China President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama chose to visit India without paying a visit to Islamabad, worsened Pakistan’s paranoia and sense of perceived alienation.

Modi cleverly cloaked his bilateral diplomatic outreach with Pakistan by timing it with the cricket World Cup and projected an impression that it was essentially a diplomatic courtesy and more should not be read into it.

For past several months, both India and Pakistan have been nudged by the US-led international community to resume talks and normalize bilateral ties but neither side apparently wanted to blink first.

With his cricket diplomacy, PM Modi has done the needful without letting his potential detractors at home feel that it was he who blinked first.

The coming weeks and months will inevitably witness renewed focus on Indo-Pak ties, though there are no signs from Pakistan yet that it would be talking only to Indian government and not to Kashmiri separatists, the very reason for which India had unilaterally cancelled foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan in the first place.

As for Modi-led India the best template in smoking the peace pipe with Pakistan will be this: trust, but verify.