India’s cricket in the World Cup so far has been excellent. Things are falling into place with a rapidity that must worry the other teams, although one hopes that New Zealand get a fair tilt. They were denied in 2019 when they lost the final to England through a combination of bad luck, bad rules and bad umpiring.
However, in denying visas for fans from Pakistan, India have displayed a churlishness that sits badly on a nation of its size and influence. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has been acting like an arm of the government since the Home Minister’s son took over as its secretary. In India, sport is politics.
The most telling comment after the much-hyped but ultimately one-sided India-Pakistan encounter came from Pakistan’s team director Mickey Arthur. “It didn’t seem like an International Cricket Council (ICC) event; it seemed like a (domestic) BCCI event,” he said referring to the lack of Pakistan supporters in the vast Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
