How Cricket became India's secret diplomatic weapon

India has a secret diplomatic weapon that we don’t talk about too much: cricket. India has used cricket to punish Pakistan, end South Africa's global isolation for apartheid and boost its soft power in vital nations. But how exactly does that happen? HT's Shashank Mattoo looks into the origins of cricket diplomacy and its links to India's outreach to Pakistan. Mattoo unpacks India's efforts to use cricket for peace and also to punish countries for behaviour it does not approve of. Mattoo also shows how cricket has been a key focus of India's soft power diplomacy in its neighbourhood, particularly in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.