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India-Pak series lacks usual hype
Inzamam feels the heightened tension in the past was because the rivals met on the pitch rarely.
A television commercial for Pakistan's Test series in India shows rival captains Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sourav Ganguly leading an old-fashioned infantry charge at each other.
The players, uttering war cries, are attired as warriors of a bygone era in the advertisement which attempts to capture the fierce political rivalry between the two South Asian neighbours and their shared passion for cricket.
As the three-Test series, the first between the two sides on Indian soil in six years, kicks off, however, the usual hype is missing.
Inzamam believes the heightened tension in the past was because the teams met on the pitch only very rarely.
"When India came last year, we were playing in Pakistan after a long gap of 14 years so there was more pressure," he said.
"If we keep playing regularly, the pressure will go down."
The changing attitude was also evident when fans sang "Happy birthday, Inzy" as the Pakistan captain, who turned 35 on Thursday, walked out to bat in a three-day tour game.
Thousands of Pakistan fans are set to arrive in Mohali, in Punjab state which borders Pakistan, to watch the first Test starting on Tuesday.
Indian opener Virender Sehwag also felt the build-up to the series had been subdued.
"I don't think the hype around this series has been as much as when we went to Pakistan last year," he wrote in a newspaper column.
"I was speaking to some of the players during the Duleep Trophy matches and they too felt the cricket fever this time seems a lot less."
POLITICAL TENSIONS
Some experts, including former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, feel the excitement will rise and reach fever pitch this week.
The all-or-nothing attitude of the fans in the past has its roots in the political tensions between the countries since they were divided after getting independence from Britain in 1947.
With millions of cricket-crazy fans on both sides of the border following every move of the players, winning matches become a natural extension of the political rivalry.
"I think however much we try to play it down, the pressure will be incredible," Gavaskar said.
"The pressure of expectation is unbelievable. An India v Pakistan series is always extraordinary and hard to describe. You may fail against any team, but not against Pakistan."
Pressure has been the key aspect of past cricket clashes between the two.
India and Pakistan have a history of tense battles.
