Right after few hours, the whole nation and other part of world will be in the grip of cricket between most expected rival-cum-neighbor teams -
All things seem so good, and the cricket crazy nation is fully enamored, praying, fasting, special worshiping (hawan) for the Indian team. Beat the Pak Dhoni ke Jiyalo! Me, too, wish for Indian victory. But what has kept me disturbing for last few days, the invitation of our Prime Minister to Pakistani counterpart to watch the cricket with him at Mohali on Indian soil. And with no surprise he has accepted it ‘cordially’. Now the cricket as a game becomes the cricket diplomacy. Cricket diplomacy -to use the cricket pitch to improve the age old rivalry, misunderstanding and meliorate the harsh relation between
Why this has been constantly repeating, while knowing that such ‘goodwill gestures’ are hardly of any help to solve out the complexities created by the hard core political leaders and diplomats? We all know that there is an unparallel hype, frenzy and craziness being created by the crazy-cricket lovers, and media; so why unnecessarily put extra pressure and tension on players by such ‘cricket diplomacy’?
Now this high profile watch-out has created an additional layer of match ’prediction’ after fixer (bookie), and ICC ‘arrangement’ which is evidently pro-corporation. And for me the first one concern is quiet enough to kill the game adventure rather than second and third. Because second one seems to acceptable which hardly has nothing to do with match decision, while third and last one has design so meticulously and neatly that it is hard to extrapolate how it can affect the results and whose favor.
Simple this game that has expectedly become the virtual fortress guarded by Special Weapons and Tactics team (SWT), NSG commandos, SPG, local police & private security men along with anti-aircraft guns placed at strategic locations around the stadium is no longer a game but a diplomatic ‘playground’ for political honchos.
I wish, despite of India’s heavy-side (as per previous WC stats as India won all the match played between India and Pakistan 4-0), staggering betting turnover of 6,000 crore (earlier was only 2,600 crore a per media reports), and ‘irresponsible’ statements-cum-warning by Pakistani Interior minister Rehman Malik that MATCH SHOULD WIN BY MEN IN BLUE after a solid testing of formidable Indian batting line up against a penetrative Pakistani bowling attack BUT NOT AS GIFT OF ‘CRICKET DIPLOMACY’!!!
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