{"id":4834,"date":"2016-04-27T15:04:10","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T09:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4834"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:18:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:48:57","slug":"india-pakistan-cricket-world-cup-2019-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=4834","title":{"rendered":"Why India-Pakistan Cricket Games Have Become a Yawn Fest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

M<\/span>ost of us grew up on stories our parents or grandparents narrated to us. Javed Miandad tonking Chetan Sharma for a last-ball six to clinch a near-impossible victory was a bedtime favourite in a sport-crazy house like mine. It was their way of drawing us into something that was so important to them \u2013 cricket. And the most legendary of these stories involved two arch-rivals locked in fierce struggle \u2013 India versus Pakistan. When we saw Shoaib Akhtar snarling at Virender Sehwag, <\/p>Sachin Tendulkar<\/span><\/a> punishing Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq outfoxing Indian batsmen or Anil Kumble running through the Pakistani batting line-up, the stories we had heard fell into place. <\/span>\n\nUnfortunately for those who watched, Sunday\u2019s World Cup clash between India and <\/span>Pakistan<\/span><\/a> would not find a place in the pantheon of classic encounters. In fact, the last few years have been bereft of any clashes of note. Why has the Indo-Pak rivalry lost its zing?<\/span>\n\nAfter being torn away from each other, despite political turmoil and constant unrest between the diplomatic contingents, cricket always thrived between the two countries. For two young nations, their new cricket teams became a symbol of national pride. Wars along the <\/span>border<\/span><\/a> and political conflicts fuelled the rivalry and the contests metamorphosed into battles larger than life. Sadly, the relations between India and Pakistan have disintegrated further. But the charged political climate belies the lack of intensity that has set into match-ups between the two teams. Sunday\u2019s game, that saw a comprehensive victory for India, is proof of the widening gulf.<\/span>\n\n\u201cThis Pakistan team is not the same side that it used to be in the \u201980s and \u201990s. Many things are responsible in helping a team grow when it comes to World Cups and the big stage\u2026 The problem is the domestic set up and that fact that they do not play much cricket at home. When you do not play enough at home, you end up adapting all the time. So you never get used to one brand of <\/span>cricket<\/span><\/a>; it never helps you settle down individually or as a team. It becomes a big ask then when it comes to performing on the big stage,\u201d says former Indian bowler Laxmipathy Balaji, who was part of India\u2019s historic tour to Pakistan in 2003. <\/span>\n

Cricket in Pakistan took a dramatic turn for the worse on March 3, 2009, when the Sri Lankan team\u2019s tour bus was attacked by gunmen.<\/blockquote>\nCricket in Pakistan took a dramatic turn for the worse on March 3, 2009, when the Sri Lankan team\u2019s tour bus was attacked by gunmen. India and Pakistan had already cut off sporting ties after the 26\/11 <\/span>terrorist<\/span><\/a> attacks in Mumbai the previous year, but after the incident with the Sri Lankan team, Pakistan became a cricket pariah. No country wished to tour thereafter.<\/span>\n\nIt isn\u2019t just the lack of an internal set-up that\u2019s responsible for the dismal state of affairs of an entire country\u2019s cricket tradition. A tournament like the Indian Premier League has helped funnel youngsters into the national side. The fact that the league helps cricketers build confidence and is a platform where they are tested against the best in the world, is well chronicled. Sohail Tanvir is an example of how <\/span>IPL<\/span><\/a> boosted the careers of young Pakistani cricketers. But for 10 years now, Pakistani players have been banned from playing in the League. <\/span>\n\nAfter a decade of being ostracised, the country, its cricket fans, and the squad are reeling from the repercussions. It is difficult for a country so passionate about cricket to recover from there.<\/span>\n\nPakistan always took great pride in producing superb talents, who were not only skilled but charismatic. Miandad hopping like a kangaroo on the pitch to taunt Kiran More, Amir Sohail cheekily sledging Venkatesh Prasad after striking a boundary, Shoaib Akhtar mimicking a plane in flight every time he took a wicket, Misbah-ul-Haq\u2019s push-ups celebration, <\/span>Shahid Afridi<\/span><\/a>\u2019s swagger, Waqar Younis\u2019 gritty display \u2013 they were all legends in their own right. Pakistani fans loved them and Indian fans loved to hate them. India versus Pakistan was the crucible in which superstars were forged. It was evident, the rivalry got them going and they always ended up being a better version of themselves when up against each other. But the past few years, the clash has become an \u00a0insipid one-sided affair.<\/span>\n\n\"\"\n\nWe are witnessing the decline of a cricketing legacy, but there is some hope in all this sordidness.\n\nMartin Rickett \/ Getty Images\n\nWe are witnessing the decline of a cricketing <\/span>legacy<\/span><\/a>, but there is some hope in all this sordidness. We\u2019ve seen countries fight big battles in the past and overcome them \u2013 whether it was apartheid that threatened to strangle South Africa, the match-fixing saga that rocked nations and shook an entire belief system, or Australia stooping to ball-tampering during Sandpapergate in the wake of an entire team\u2019s worth of legends retiring in a cluster. Pakistan will have to find a way out of this too, to reignite a rivalry that has given birth to cricketers, fans, and has in many ways been responsible in getting us to reimagine the game.<\/span>\n\nCricket would be better off for the competition between the two sides to return to where it was at its zenith. There was a different aura surrounding the Imran Khan-led Pakistan side of the early \u201990s. They were fearless and carefree, in the mould of their charming, unpredictable leader. Hopefully, <\/span>Imran Khan<\/span><\/a> \u2013 a custodian of their golden era and Pakistan\u2019s newest Prime Minister \u2013will pave the way for India-Pakistan cricket to return to the glory days.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are witnessing the decline of a cricketing legacy. India versus Pakistan was the crucible in which superstars were forged. Javed Miandad\u2019s last-ball six and Venkatesh Prasad knocking off Aamer Sohail\u2019s off stump is the stuff of legends. Without the biting rivalry, cricket is poorer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":4837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[449,8436,19,262],"class_list":["post-4834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-cricket","tag-cricket-world-cup-2019","tag-india","tag-pakistan"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy India-Pakistan Cricket Games Have Become a Yawn Fest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We are witnessing the decline of a cricketing legacy. India versus Pakistan was the crucible in which superstars were forged. 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