The India-Pakistan rivalry is the biggest spectacle in cricket right now

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will take on each other once again at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14.

India are waltzing into Ahmedabad after securing a massive eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their second Cricket World Cup game at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi. It was here that in 1952, five years after independence, that a young Pakistani cricket team took its first steps in the world of cricket.

Setting foot in the newly formed Republic of India, Pakistan had arrived to the country’s capital to play their first-ever Test match and with it, becoming the seventh nation to become an ICC full member.

71 years have passed since then and in that time. India and Pakistan have fought three wars and the diplomatic tensions and animosities between the two countries couldn’t be any lower despite the shared culture, history, heritage, and border they share.

That shared culture also includes the sport of cricket which is practically a religion in the sub-continent. It’s one of the reasons why when it comes to clashes between the two neighbours in cricket, the field almost becomes a battlefield as patriotism and jingoism in equal measures get involved.

The Pakistan cricket team hasn’t stepped foot in India since 2016 and they haven’t played bilateral cricket against each other since 2012/13. The 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as well as constant border tensions and acts of aggression have made it extremely difficult for cricket between the two nations to take place normally (as if it ever normal in the first place).

This is the context with which Pakistani players will be playing India on Indian soil for the first time in seven years. Half a billion people are expected to tune in to catch the latest episode of the clash between the two titans. Move aside, Super Bowl, there are few rivalries in world sports that can match the fever pitch of India vs Pakistan.

The ugly tension between India and Pakistan stemming from their decades-long conflict regarding Kashmir have poured into cricket over the years. As a result, it is often described as one of the greatest sporting grudge matches in the world. There is no India-Pak game distanced from the reality of the political spats shared by the two nations.

And yet, the sport of cricket also has the power to be something bigger than paltry debate contests. A legacy of the colonial British rule that changed the face of the sub-continent, cricket has the capacity to unite more than 1.6 billion people into cheering for sixes and wickets.

What was once a seething hotbed of scuffles, verbal exchanges, and finger-pointing, has transformed into a professional sporting affair. Players from both sides share a kind of camaraderie between them that their predecessors never bothered themselves with.

At the Asia Cup encounter played between them in Sri Lanka a month ago, Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi had a special gift to share with fellow fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah following the birth of his first-born. Stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Hardik Pandya are frequently seen hugging and exchanging pleasantries with their Pakistani counterparts and Babar Azam and co always speak fondly about Indian players.

It is clear that the political situation has no effect on the dressing rooms of both teams with the players prioritising the sport above all else. This comes as a breath of fresh air even as tensions simmer between both the cricket boards.

Earlier this year, the BCCI used its clout to get the majority of the Asia Cup to be played in Sri Lanka, a tournament that Pakistan was supposed to holds on the grounds that the Indian team won’t be travelling to Pakistan due to security issues. The PCB had threatened to boycott the Cricket World Cup to be held in India as a result but quickly fell in line given the political power that the BCCI holds over ICC.

The Pakistan national team was welcomed with open arms in Hyderabad and when Mohammad Rizwan steered his side to make history with the highest run-chase in a World Cup match, he was greeted with a rapturous ovation that made him feel like he was in Rawalpindi instead.

One can only hope that the scene at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad will be similar. A special pre-match ceremony has been organised by the BCCI and hotel rooms, lodges, and hospital beds have all been sold out since weeks, building up to October 14. Everyone knows the truth: it is the greatest spectacle the sport has to offer right now.