Ind V Pak: Frenetic, Tense But Also Absurd, Buoyant

The ICC 2023 World Cup it appears will have an opening ceremony after all nine days after the event started. India versus Pakistan on October 14 will feature a rangarang karyakram (colourful programme).

- Sharda Ugra

The timing is uncertain: it could be before the toss. Or between the toss and the first ball, maybe between innings.

Film stars will also be present maybe involved in the programme. There's a 50-50 chance that accredited Pakistani reporters could race across the border and into the press box in time. The chance of more than a dozen Pakistanis turning up or Pakistan flags being waved is close to zero.

I remember every Indo-Pak World Cup match from 1992, reporting from two of the 50-over variety-(Centurion 2003 and Mohali 2011) plus Wanderers 2007. I found the Mauka Mauka adverts mean and disrespectful because had that been directed at Indians in the 1990s, I know what that would have felt like. As the years wore on, the media build-up to each successive Indo-Pak match escalated to overheated nonsense, now amplified by soc-med.

In contract to what we are told the Rivalry means and stands for, as the only cricketing touch points between India and Pakistan these World Cup matches are our reassurance-building measures. Which reinforces the fact that no matter how physical and palpable our separation due to geographical borders or how entrenched psychological distances through governments and real politik, what the majority of Indians and Pakistanis will always share is cricket.

The sport's appeal we are told comes from the subcontinent's heart, but it starts, I believe, from our palate. How we find in it an expression of our unique flavours, freed from western trimmings. It is rooted in our gullies, maidans, school corridors, flatlands, hills and beaches. It is played all year around, day and night, in endless, unstoppable season.