IPL was a chance for India to improve relations with Pakistan

IPL was a chance for India to improve relations with Pakistan

The relations between two major countries of South Asia, Pakistan and India have hardly been friendly as they have shared a lot of bitterness in last 64 years. The two countries have fought three full-fledge wars and have a number of disputes including Kashmir,
Siachen, Sirkreek and Water-sharing issue, only to name a few.

The neighbouring countries spend a huge amount of their GDP in defence, which is quite ironic and unfortunate, considering the fact that majority of the people living in the region do not get proper food to eat.

In the rapidly changing world, if a country wants to prosper, it is absolutely imperative for that country to have friendly relations with the other countries in the region.

Indo-Pak relations received a massive setback after the Mumbai Terror Attacks in November, 2008. Since then, India has halted the sporting ties with Pakistan.

History has witnessed that cricket has been something which has brought the two countries closer and the sport can be used as a product to make sure that both the countries share each other’s culture.

Indian Premier League (IPL) is a very popular sporting event in India and all across the world. Pakistan players took part in its first edition in 2008 and made a huge impact. Pakistan’s left arm fast bowler, Sohail Tanvir ended up as the highest wicket-taker
of that event and won the Purple Cap as a result.  

However, after the Mumbai Attacks, Board of Control for Cricket in  India (BCCI) did not include any Pakistani player for the cash-rich league.

Pakistan is one of the major cricket playing nations and any event which does not include the Pakistani players is surely not complete.

Apart from the sporting reasons, it is crucial for both the countries to restart their bilateral sporting relations as it can turn out to be a massive confidence building measure between the neighbouring nations.

But for that to happen, India must show some flexibility in its attitude, which has been quite stern since last five years, especially when it comes to sports.with Pakistan. It is a universal truth that sports should not have anything to do with politics.

If both countries are sincere with their people, they must show some sort of seriousness in improving their relations and the first step can be easily taken in a cricket ground.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=18600

Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Apr 10 2012. Filed under Pakistan, South Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry