The inside view of India vs Pakistan matches

Fans feel it is something bigger than cricket but the view from inside, from players and the dressing room, is starkly different.

As India and Pakistan clash in Dubai the noise surrounding the game is at an all-time high. Fans feel it is something bigger than cricket but the view from inside, from players and the dressing room, is starkly different.

India Vs Pakistan  (AP)

The classic politically correct description of India- Pakistan cricket is from Rahul Dravid, the current Covid struck coach of the Indian team. Ahead of a 2003 World Cup game against Pakistan he fronted the media and when asked the inevitable question replied with the practised skill of a trained diplomat. For us, he said, measuring his words as carefully as he judged length of a wicked outswinger, it’s one more game of cricket played with the bat and ball, 11 versus 11. We prepare for it just as we do against Bangladesh or anyone else.

Dravid wasn’t lying, merely using facts to present his argument and with good reason. His broad mind and deep understanding of India- Pakistan ground reality made him downplay the tension and depress the hype. Also, turning inwards, he wanted to cut the clutter and focus on cricket.

But that’s easier said than done and the inconvenient question of ‘traditional rivalry’ popped up minutes before the toss. Ali Bacher suggested the two teams shake hands as a gesture of goodwill to send a positive message of friendship. Both teams agreed and a public announcement was made but at the last minute there was a rethink as someone asked: If this is like any other game why are we doing this? Are we the UN?

Regardless of the hype, players don’t see an India-Pak game as any war or jung. They understand it’s a ‘must win’ match and realise it’s a chance to become a hero. Hrishikesh Kanitkar remains etched in our memory because he hit a crucial four to secure victory in Dhaka and we remember Joginder Sharma for nailing the final wicket in a World T20 final. But there is also a flip side, revealed by a bowler when asked to bowl the last over. My only thought at that time, he told me, was not to become Chetan Sharma!

The major issue of India-Pakistan games is pressure and prestige not politics. During a tight moment , watching from the dressing room, captain Sourav Ganguly remarked there is way too much tension and someday a player will have a heart attack because of this. Sachin Tendulkar, a battle-scarred veteran of many such battles, provided a different perspective. After taking down Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram in his famous knock of 98 from 75 at Centurion, Tendulkar said he’d been thinking and planning for this for years.

In team meetings ahead of matches the strength and weaknesses of the opposing side are discussed and strategies formed to handle key players. I remember Indian team meetings where coach John Wright forcefully made this point about Pakistan: 'We will beat them by discipline, discipline and more discipline.'

What was messaged, by implication, was Pakistan was individually brilliant but lacked collective cohesion. They create magic but also possess a spectacular talent for self-destruction.

Magic, I have seen firsthand. Shoaib Akhtar removing (a well settled Dravid) and Sachin with two toe-crushing, inswinging yorkers that would have dismissed Bradman and Richards. Saeed Anwar making 188 not out in a Test in a team total of 316. Wasim Akram, running high fever and too sick to walk straight, yet bowling long spells in Calcutta’s sapping heat. Also, Inzamam, champion batsman of lazy elegance, scoring a masterly hundred in a Karachi one day.

Though sitting as opponents in different corners, India Pakistan players are friends who respect each other. When India toured Pakistan the two teams often took the same flight after a game and sat next to each other, not in separate groups.

In the end, though, an India- Pakistan game in Dubai or Delhi, Manchester or Mumbai, is something to celebrate as a compelling contest. Abhinav Bindra says sport is about excellence, friendship and respect and that’s the way India- Pakistan matches should be. Why infect them by adding unnecessary external considerations and twisting the narrative. Broadcaster STAR, promoting the games aggressively to attract viewership and advertisement revenue, is pitching the Asia Cup as an event to fly the flag.

Much better to stick with Dravid, the player/coach/cricket statesman who said : It’s only a game of cricket!