- As the popular saying goes, there are always two sides to the story, and both should be heard before forming an opinion. If one side of the story is made known and the other is unheard, then the very mention of the story becomes one-sided, leaving it to the wisdom of the wiser to fully comprehend the same. The quagmire aptly describes the present circumstances surrounding the Indian cricket team’s participation in the ongoing Asia Cup T20 tournament, featuring archrival Pakistan. The whole country is extremely agitated and angry with what happened in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, resulting in the brutal killings of 28 innocent lives. The Indian response to the attack in the form of Operation Sindoor is also well documented. Is it enough, though?
PC: KhelReport
- However, the majority of the countrymen are not happy with the way Team India has been given a go-ahead to play in the tournament despite the popular sentiment against the participation. Of course, voices are emanating from some quarters patronizingly mentioning that sports and politics should not be mixed. In reality, sports and politics can never be separated, as India-Pakistan no-handshake showed after the former brushed aside the latter with absolute nonchalance. The high-decibel chatter over whether India should play cricket with Pakistan was hard to top, but the no-handshake drama did it. Even what happened in the neighbours’ Asia Cup faceoff last week has taken a backseat to what did not happen before and after it.
PC: MSN
- Mind you, this no-handshake powwow didn’t need any coals to make it hotter, still Pakistan Cricket Board has added some by protesting that Indian players were unsportsmanlike. Meanwhile, Indian Skipper Suryakumar Yadav has explained on behalf of his teammates that a few things in life are above sportsman spirit: their no-handshake stand was the Indian team honouring those killed in the Pahalgam terror attack and also the armed forces who undertook Op Sindoor. Critics may say this is politics entering sports, but hasn’t it always already been inside for long? Indeed, this sports-politics relationship often looks a bit of a muddle, but how can it not when politics never has pristine purity? The Indian only a multilateral not a bilateral stand may appear hypocritical. So?
PC: The Diplomatist
- However, it’s also about India’s Olympic ambitions, which will be shot if we don’t keep our multinational sports bargains. On the flip side, an Asia Cup without any India-Pak play makes little sense. And it’s hardly our neighbourhood alone that’s at sixes and sevens like this. Moreover, expecting sports diplomacy to have more consistency than governmental diplomacy is pie in the sky. The shifting of strategy by the Indian Government to consider any terrorist attack as an act of war has altered the very outlook. The Indian military prowess has been shown to the whole world. The onus is on the Pakistani deep state to rein in terrorist elements from perpetrating dastardly attacks. In conclusion, politics and sports will make a tango, whether one likes it or dislikes.
