India-Pakistan cricket: When past scars queer the pitch

When it comes to India-Pakistan cricket, crowd behaviour changes across geographies. At the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad, some raucous members of the crowd jeered and booed Pakistan players. Religious chants were raised when Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan walked back to the pavilion.By contrast in Chennai, where the Pakistan-Afghanistan match took place, the crowd civilly applauded Pakistan and cheered lustily when Afghanistan defeated Pakistan in a jaw-dropping upset. Spectators in Chennai usually display good sporting manners. In 1999, when India lost to Pakistan, Chennai fans rose in standing ovation as the Wasim Akram-led Pakistan team took its victory lap around the Chepauk stadium. However, it must be pointed out that they are not as big hearted when it comes to Sri Lanka. In 2020, Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi had to opt out of the Muttiah Muralitharan biopic over what was seen as the cricketer’s ‘support’ for the Sinhalese-led govt in Sri Lanka during the civil war. Even earlier, in 2013, anti-Sinhala sentiment led the Tamil Nadu government to ask the IPL that no Sinhala player be allowed to play in Chennai. In view of the strong public sentiments, Chennai Super Kings subsequently refrained from picking any Lankan player at an auction. However, things have changed since then, and two Sri Lankan players — Matheesha Pathirana and Maheesh Theekshana — play for CSK and have actually become crowd favourites. It can be argued that India was not playing Pakistan in Chennai. Thus, nationalist fever was naturally not as high as in Ahmedabad. Virulent nationalism is an inescapable part of most sports-watching crowds, particularly if one of the teams is regarded as the national arch enemy. And this happens in Pakistan as well. Recently, former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan revealed how he was once hit with an iron nail by a fan while he was on a tour of Pakistan. In 1969, El Salvador and Honduras fought an actual war because of a bitter soccer tournament.There is also the fact that sport doesn’t exist in a vacuum. In 1999 when Chennai cheered the Pakistanis, it was the high point of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Pakistan reach-out. Vajpayee had just undertaken his Lahore bus yatra and recited his poem ‘Jung Na Hone Denge’ in Lahore. The Kargil war had not happened.Today, diplomatic relations with our western neighbour are at an all-time low. After the 2019 Pulwama attacks, there are barely any takers for Indo-Pak peace initiatives or people-to-people contact. Even Pakistan movie stars have been unwelcome in Bollywood though Bombay high court dismissed a petition last week seeking a ban on Pakistani artistes working in India, calling it a “retrograde step”. ShowBlurbsWhatever the courts may say, sentiments in parts of North and West India remain surcharged. Mumbai may be the home of India’s cricketing greats, but in 1991, members of the Shiv Sena vandalised the cricket pitch at Wankhede stadium, leading to the cancellation of the Pakistan team’s tour of India. This time, the Pakistan Cricket Board had requested that the team not play any World Cup game in Mumbai. So, if both India and Pakistan do make it to the semi-final, they will play in Eden Gardens in Kolkata instead of Wankhede.When it comes to hostility to Pakistan, the history of a city determines crowd responses. Mumbai has been scarred by the train bombings of 2006 and terror attacks of November 26, 2008. No wonder tempers are feverish and frayed when it comes to playing cricket with Pakistan. In North India, India-Pakistan relations have been damaged by not only the scars of Partition, but by repeated bomb blasts and terror attacks by Pakistan-based militants, and the long bitter history over Kashmir.Former Pakistan players have not helped matters with their intemperate statements. In 2021, when a Pakistan player offered namaz during a T20 match between India and Pakistan, former captain Waqar Younis said, “Rizwan offering namaz surrounded by Hindus was very special.” Younis later apologised. Before the current series, former captain Shahid Afridi said nobody in India applauds Pakistan.This is not true. In Hyderabad, the Pakistan team was welcomed warmly. In Bengaluru, during the Pakistan vs Australia match, Indian crowds were restrained and fair, except for one incident when a policeman tried to stop a Pakistani spectator from cheering his team. This incident was immediately and universally condemned by Indian cricket fans on social media.Rising above differences and shrill narratives of religious nationalism, there are many fans who believe sport should transcend tribalism. As a Pakistani fan who was being heckled for expressing her love for Virat Kohli during an Asia Cup match put it: "Padosiyon se pyaar karna buri baat toh nahi hai na. (It’s not a bad thing to love your neighbour)."