If you believe that the hype and the excitement that surrounds an India vs Pakistan match nowadays is a faux and quite unwarranted, you may want to read through this. If not, then you definitely should!

We can agree that the days when the two teams could muster enough to produce a game that would keep the spectators on the edge of their seats till the very end are long gone. Back then, while the Indians had their Sachin Tendulkars, Virendra Sehwags and Venkatesh Prasads, the fanatics across the borders banked upon the performances of the likes of Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq. But ever since the 2000s, and especially post the 2011 ICC World Cup, one can barely remember an instance where the Pakistanis went toe-to-toe with the Indians on the cricket field. Yes, there was the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy where Sarfaraz Ahmed led his side to a fine win over India in the final, but then there’s always an exception to the theory, isn’t it?

On the face of it, the match on Sunday (June 16) at the 2019 ICC World Cup too, promises to be nothing else than a damp squib given the hype around. If we are to go by the numbers alone, then the balance is heavily tilted towards the Indians. Virat Kohli and his boys have been on a some-what all-conquering spree since that eventful day in 2017. The Indians boast of a healthy 71%-win record in the ODIs between that Champions Trophy loss and the start of the World Cup, while the Pakistanis have won just 38% of their games in this period.

So, if it were to be any other opposition, then these numbers would have been more than enough for everyone, including the pundits, players, advertisers and the bookmakers, to tag this as "just-another-game-that-India-will-win”. But that’s not the case, isn’t it? In the past, we have seen news channels and the promoters show no hesitation in calling an India vs Pakistan game a 'war’ -- a somewhat hyperbole of the political reality between the two nations.

But what surprises more is how this match is regularly used as an opportunity to wage a proxy ‘war’ from one’s comfort zones, thus falling prey to jingoism and pettiness. Be it the fans, celebrities or even the former cricketers, everyone seems comfortable in sending out a tweet or a message to the tune where it’s no longer about the game.

The past few editions of this match have also seen advertisers trying to ‘step up’ their game. However, it’s this time that these guys seem to have hit rock bottom is trying to appease ‘their audience’. Such moves seriously beg the question, who are this ‘audience’? And if there are enough takers for such cringe-worthy stuff on both sides of the border, then it’s high time we question ourselves and see what we have become in the race to ‘uplift’ ourselves. In our attempt to outdo one another, let’s not forget the basic human values. After all, it’s just a game of cricket and nothing more.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Dibyangshu Sarkar

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World Cup 2019IndiaPakistan