India And Pakistan Are Playing After A Year, But A Lot Has Changed Since Then Off The Field
India next face Pakistan on June 4 in a Champions Trophy match
Slick hair, lithe body, rythmic run-up, stylish bowling action 每 that＊s Wasim Akram. Chest stretched out, unkempt hair, bullet-like speed, life-threatening bouncers - that's Shoaib Akhtar. Cool as ice, defiant like a wall, a vast repository of steady strokes - that is, of course, Rahul Dravid.
As you remember most India-Pakistan clashes and the players who made a difference, you＊d realise the definition of Indo-Pak cricket encounters has changed over time. And things have changed drastically since India beat Pakistan in the 2016 T20 World Cup clash at the Eden Gardens.
Times Have Changed
From the cricketing point of view, MS Dhoni is not captain anymore, the Indian cricket team is number one in Tests and Pakistan have become a laughing stock with more chapters of match-fixing added to their already tainted record.
And from the political point of view, terror attacks, skirmishes at the line of control and political friction have left India foaming at the mouth. Now, the Indo-Pak encounter has gone from becoming a rabble-rousing cricket match to a bloodthirsty battleground for people on both sides of the border.
Political Friction And Tragedy
The equation between both countries actually changed during the 2016 T20 World Cup. Due to the Pathankot attacks and security reasons, the venue of the match was changed from Dharamsala to Kolkata.
A lot has happened over the last few months, too. The Kulbhushan Jadhav case has put India and Pakistan in the eye of international spotlight. The matter escalated to such an extent that the International Court of Justice had to butt in.
Adding fuel to the fire was the Uzma Ahmed case, who, as an Indian citizen, reportedly suffered atrocities in Pakistan after being forced to marry at gunpoint.
Twitter
The BCCI-PCB Tiff
Apart from the slimy, undercover terror attacks that have left Kashmir paralysed, Pakistan went to the extent of killing two Indian soldiers and then mutilated their bodies along the line of control.
The ugly exchange between the PCB and BCCI has also urged both countries to fight for supremacy. What has actually upset India is a ※legal notice§ from Pakistan with damage claims worth 387 crores. Both the countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate six bilateral series between the two teams between 2015〞2023. BCCI＊s apt answer was 每 the MoU wasn＊t a legally binding clause.
An India-Pakistan cricket match is just not a battle between two teams. It is a face-off where the bubble of political friction finally bursts over a 50-over cricket match. Before we see a sea of green and blue in Birmingham, we must admit that India-Pakistan cricket clashes are not the same as before.
