Dinesh Kamath's Editorial (India to clash with Pakistan on cricket field? A good idea!) that was published in Newsband

India to clash with Pakistan on cricket field? A good idea!

The matches between under-19 teams of India and Pakistan that concluded just recently reminded both Indian and Pakistani cricket lovers of what they have been missing. At the Junior Asia Cup in Malaysia, the teenagers played two really close games, the kind doctors advise patients with cardiac problems to stay away from. The first, a league game, India lost by a single run; the second, the final, was tied. India’s captain, Unmukt Chand, scored a ton in the final, and so did Pakistan’s opener Sami Aslam. And this isn’t the last time these names will be heard of.

Over the years, India has shown the knack of discovering supremely gifted top-order batsmen, while Pakistan is famous for its hopefully unending reserves of deadly quicks and wily spinners. It’s a cricketing crime to keep these two species away from each other. If governments are sure about the security of players and spectators, who wouldn’t want to watch Virender Sehwag take guard against Umar Gul or sit transfixed to know how Sachin Tendulkar would handle Saeed Ajmal this time? But then, when legends of the game start talking about the wrong Ajmal in a cricketing conversation, they turn into spoilsports.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must be congratulated for its bold move to invite the Pakistan cricket team to visit India for a short tour of one-day and Twenty20 matches at the end of this year. The decision has delighted millions of fans in both countries, who revel in the competitive intensity these contests inevitably produce. Quite clearly, the cricket-loving public in the subcontinent is against the game being politicized in a narrow and chauvinistic way — something a section of our political class and intelligentsia is wont to do. There is absolutely no logic for prohibiting bilateral cricket ties at a time when India and Pakistan maintain a range of other sporting contacts, apart from having cultural exchanges and trading relationships.

Although the BCCI’s decision must be officially approved by the Centre, it appears that the tour has already received an informal nod from the ministries of Home and External Affairs.

It should be a welcomed decision taken by BCCI to organize a series between these two nations. There is nothing wrong in this. The game should not be affected just because of politics.

A cricket series between the two nations can be seen as a base to the future talks between the two countries. The ardent love for the game of the fans of both the countries should be taken into consideration and Indian government should give a green signal to BCCI’s proposal.