‘The battleground is all set, the artillery has been sharpened, shields now await to be adorned by the soldiers, soldiers who now are the sole bearers of the collective pride of 1.3 Billion individuals and a nation…’, no! this shouldn’t be understood as a premise for a war to be witnessed, but of all permutations and combinations within the cricket fraternity when two potential South-Asian neighbours come to a playoff against each other, cheering is subtly replaced by intense war cries, for Pakistan versus India is not just a match it is indeed an emotional and political rollercoaster.
As the players prepare themselves for the upcoming playoff, respective media of both nations portrays them no more as mere sportspersons but as ‘gladiators’ who now wait for the ultimate clash. Cricket becomes the greatest manifestation of one’s nationalism and patriotic appeal and the intensity with the self-proclaimed cricket fans wait for the ‘d-day’ with subsequent criticism of the rival team shows the level of their national loyalty.
It is indeed the shared bitter history of both India and Pakistan that finds its way into ‘the gentlemen’s game’ and adds the element of a ‘proxy war’ to it. An ordinary match becomes a ‘do or die situation at every step, giving the respective players unnecessary stress and responsibility. Ultimately all they think about is winning and not playing, the pleasure of this noble sport subsides and comes into the forefront the fear of losing.
Essentially, the nation that consoles its ‘men in blue and green’ after showing underwhelming performance in any other match, but when it is about India and Pakistan, consolation is replaced by criticism and mockery, both virtual and physical. Multiple times, reports of alleged violence have also been made.
We often come across statements like, “We shall bear the defeat at the finals, but not against Pakistan”, when given some thought, this sporting event becomes a metaphor for the larger narrative of society at conflict with itself. A society that is grappling with an egocentric materialistic approach towards a majority of things and phenomena. Where something as mellow as cricket becomes nothing less than a war.
Where all-important news is taken off news channels and match speculations take up the space with leaders and former players from both the countries are shown debating, or in fact, fighting.
Hitherto, India has never been defeated in the hands of Pakistan at T20 format, so should this legacy become a piece of baggage for either of the two nations, limiting their collective performance? But unfortunately, this is what actually happens, numerous battles are already fought on verbal-virtual platforms before even the coin is tossed in the air. Horoscopes of the playing team members are predicted days before the match is to be played, speculating their potential performance.
This bitter build-up ultimately leads to hatred between the citizens of both the nations who choose various platforms to vent their anger out, wrapped up in the glittery cover of patriotism. Calling ourselves as members of a global village, is this the legacy we are planning to leave for the generations to come? Transforming a globally lauded sport into a stepping stone of propaganda, politics, cross-national hatred and subsequent violence shouldn’t become our refuge to showcase our nationalistic intensity when the world and society have other grave issues to deal with.
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