Flat wicket

The outcome and quality of India-Pakistan cricket matches seem to be heavily dependent on the relations between the two countries

Sanjay Kapoor Delhi

Politics accompanied by a daunting fear of losing has once again begun to weigh heavily on cricketing ties between India and Pakistan. Long gone is the magnanimity so carefully orchestrated by Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf when Pakistan's cricket board allowed the visiting Indian cricket team to walk away with the honours. In the historic 2004 series in Pakistan, five one-day internationals and all test matches were decided and the magic of the game had rubbed off on relations between the two countries. United Nations and other international bodies applauded the role of cricket in bringing about a thaw between the two neighbours.

Even though there has been some movement in bilateral ties between the two countries, the current India-Pakistan test series suddenly reflects a better appreciation of the problems that stare the two countries in the face: the Kashmir issue still defies solution and cross-border terrorism now has even Pakistan blaming India for violence in Balochistan.

One could ask: are we going back to the pre-2004 days? Take a look at the loss-proof manner in which the two sides have gone about in their games. Each of the two test matches has seen the two sides accumulating more than 1,000 runs. Bowling has been massacred and there has been no hope for a result from the day the match has commenced. Pitches, cold weather and rocket science were brought in as explanations for why the bowlers were not getting any purchase from the ground or off the air. In some ways, these pretexts did not wash with the cricket watchers who witnessed an enthralling contest between Pakistan and the visiting English team. The same pitches that have produced a dud now served as the arena for some of the most hotly contested matches.

So what is happening now? Although it is still early days before we go back to the era when India-Pakistan would just refuse to play to win, there is plenty of evidence to show that the players are on edge. Take a look at the sledging display between Shahid Afridi and Irfan Pathan or Shoiab Akhtar giving a mouthful to Indian captain Rahul Dravid. Akhtar's 140 km/hr beamer to MS Dhoni without as much as an apology promised to turn the situation ugly. Umpire Rudi Koetzen may have made light of it, but it does not take much effort for the situation to turn ugly when the spectators are getting bored with safety-first matches.

Right up to the 1980s, the test matches between the two neighbours had been an exercise in self-preservation. Defensive batting followed by negative bowling had made these series meaningless. There was a dramatic change once Imran Khan took over as the captain of the Pakistan team and he refused to follow the diktats of the board and the pressures of the ruling establishment to demand safe pitches. In those days, President Zia-ul-Haq practised his own version of cricket diplomacy and there was a certain kind of comfort at display in striving for a result.

The two sides refused to visit each other from the early 1990s right up to 2004, but they did cross swords in one-day internationals either in the Emirates or in other international arenas. Those became an occasion for boisterous jingoism. The most abiding memory has been the last-ball sixer by Javed Miandad off a Chetan Sharma full toss in the 1986 Australasia cup in Sharjah. Pakistan's victory triggered off wild celebrations all over the Gulf region. Since then the stakes have been so high that the Indian cricket board was quite uncomfortable with the idea that it should lose in its engagement with Pakistan. In a bizarre moment of madness, it even forbade Gulf organisers from holding matches on Friday, the day of prayer in an Islamic society. Needless to say, these kinds of changes did not work. The stakes were so high that the Dubai-based mafia headed by the likes of Dawood Ibrahim got into betting and began to manipulate the outcome of the matches. Much of the betting mess that the cricket world has seen has its origin in those days. People with long memories would remember how Rolex watches were presented to Indian cricketers by the Dubai mafia in expensive bashes. It was Dubai that celebrated cricket and spoilt the relatively innocent players from both sides.

Absence of normal cricketing ties benefited the underworld so much that the Indian government refused to allow the Indian cricket team to go to the Gulf. Their belief was that besides the humiliation coming their way due to frequent loss of matches, the Sharjah tournament was corrupting the Indian team and the board.

The rise in cross-border terrorism and violence in the Kashmir valley became a reason for the cricket board to end this farce. Every time there was a move from Gulf organisers like Abdul Rehman Bukhatir to kick-start a tournament, the Indian government made it clear that there was no reason for playing each other when there was so much bad blood between the two sides. The fierce spat at Kargil delayed the restoration of sporting relationship between the two sides. Further violence in the valley and terror attacks was enough justification for the majoritarian BJP-led government to accede to the request to the likes of cricket boss, Jagmohan Dalmia.

When both the countries came close to war in the wake of an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001, cricket was hardly on anyone's mind. The game was inextricably linked with politics and no one had any illusions that it would change. After international mediation reduced the prospects of war between the two neighbours, the passion for cricket in both the countries began to throb again. It was meetings between the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, and their desire to smoke the peace pipe that paved the way for resumption of cricketing relations. The game, in the reckoning of the intermediaries, was the best confidence building measure (CBM). And the Indian team that crossed over to Pakistan was bowled over by the warmth of their hosts. The hate filled stereotypes began to give way to gushy reports of conviviality and bonhomie. Compared to the present series, the 2004 edition began with one-day internationals and produced sure results and great atmospherics. Unlike in the past, no one in the audience threw stones or gave the Islamic war cry of 'Nara-i- Tadbeer'. It was a great series. A sporting contest was shaping the content of politics. Even the US media, which normally ignores cricket, descended upon Pakistan in good numbers.

All that energy has begun to flag now. Deadlines for opening of consulates in other centres, Mumbai and Karachi, are not being met. The Kashmir solution remains intractable. All suggestions that have been made by either side for enlarging areas of cooperation are facing bureaucratic roadblocks. The Indo-Iranian pipeline that was to lend another dimension to Indo-Pak ties has lost its way due to logistical problems and US pressure. Just before the current series started, the Indian government commented on the violence in Balochistan, a statement that was resented by the Pakistani establishment. Musharraf even hinted at the involvement of a foreign country, a euphemism for India, in the turbulence in the state. The discussion among the foreign secretaries that took place in Delhi was marked with a lot of 'tough talking' by both sides. The expected breakthrough did not happen. Although there is promise of more rounds of discussion, there is palpable uneasiness in both sides.

A similar mindset is visible in the playing arena. Drawn matches are a clear manifestation of the kind of politics that is being played out in the rarefied ambience of Hyderabad House in Delhi. There is a possibility that the excitement created by the one-day internationals that follow the test matches could change the mood in the two countries. It remains to be seen if they are able to lift the level of dialogue between the two countries as well.