Do We Really Need India vs Pakistan Right Now?

India is slated to resume international cricket after a break of almost two months; the longest since the advent of the IPL. Just as this break is about to complete, the BCCI has hinted at hosting Pakistan during the 2.5 week break during late December-early January. There have been spontaneous responses to that announcement; a mixed bag comprising of those who believe that 26/11 should be the roadblock for such a series and others who feel such a series can resume the ‘politically’ estranged ties between the two nations.

There are couple of dimensions to this entire story and only a few have highlighted vociferously thus far. Firstly let us delineate this whole business of ‘cricket diplomacy’. If cricket indeed was the sole reason for fostering cold relations, then each and every match between India and Pakistan during the last decade or so should have made it even more affectionate. India and Pakistan have featured quite a number of times in the last decade, yet every outing is treated as a fresh start. Cricket can indeed get people across borders together, enjoy sport with healthy competition, foster personal relations but it cannot get political ties to improve. The word cricket diplomacy is too foxy to fall prey to; for it can make attractive headlines, get people discussing about it but not serve much purpose practically.

Let us move to the cricketing aspect of the story. While India has a busy schedule, Pakistan doesn't have anything on its itinerary after the T20 WC (September). It makes sense for the PCB to push for such a series; as it serves dual purpose, resumes bilateral cricketing ties with India and also helps the board generate some revenue. But what explains BCCI’s stance? India has to host Australia straight after the England ODIs and then there is the IPL. Either the board believes that such a series won’t hamper player fitness & affect momentum or the board is too interested with cashing in on every possible revenue generation option.

India vs Pakistan was, is and will always remain a ‘marquee’ contest. Trimming it down to such a small series serves no cricketing purpose. Each and every contest has its features and India vs Pakistan is beyond what transpires on the cricket field. While it makes sense to entertain thoughts on resuming ties, the timing and the length of the proposed tour is beyond logic. India vs Pakistan may not be the ‘watch-out-for’ contest in test cricket, but surely it is one of the most followed one; yet you don’t have any test matches on the agenda! Fans on both sides would rather wait for a long, complete tour than be content with this mini-nothing.

India vs Pakistan is never short on the emotional quotient; and the prospective tour too doesn’t deviate from that fact. While a few notable people have opposed this tour on the basic of too-much-cricket, there are few who object this on the basis of the 26/11 attacks. Both the arguments hold significance and if the proposed tour does indeed move ahead, the opposition is likely to grow. The two boards could have proposed a neutral venue to organize this or could have planned a full tour next year, instead what has transpired is unnecessary and avoidable confusion. If the tour eventually materializes you could expect fortress like stadiums, political slingshots, emotional retaliation/opposition from a few people/organizations and much more.

India has two intense back-to-back home tours (versus England and Australia) which could be more than mentally tiring for the players. Squeeze in this highly emotional and pressure series and there is no respite for the players. Pakistan has an important and a long tour to South Africa. The players would rather prefer a few weeks to acclimatize there rather than contest almost a nothing series. Picture this for the Indian fans - non-stop cricket from the 1^st ODI in SL; a prospect long enough to creep in the bore factor. With so many cons in sight do we seriously need this series?