Pakistan and India are two crazy cricket nations, therefore whenever these two teams face off, it produces a really special atmosphere both inside and outside the stadium. The cricket matches between the two nations carry significant political and diplomatic overtones. In South Asian politics, symbols have been especially important in inter-nation interactions. Multi-track systems bring together several organizations, each with its own methods for fostering peace that might add to a larger effort to lessen violence. The widespread use of T20 cricket, particularly franchise-based leagues like the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), and Indian premier League (IPL), has helped to not only internationalize cricket but also foster a cosmopolitan atmosphere amongst nations.
In the context of Indo-Pak relations, cricket has frequently been used as a diplomatic strategy to advance ties between countries in the South Asian area. Although, Cricket diplomacy between India and Pakistan has a checkered history. Sometimes it has come as an icebreaker; at other times; it has merely marked a deceptive lull before another storm Even though games like cricket do not entirely define relationships, they do represent the underlying forces that influence them and somewhat mirror the reality on the ground. Cricket has frequently been used as a diplomatic instrument to enhance ties. The game itself can occasionally act as a spoiler by establishing a “winner” and “loser”. It is generally known that the US and China used ping-pong diplomacy to resolve their bilateral differences at the beginning of the 1970s. However, in the context of South Asia, the game of cricket has undoubtedly played a distinctive role in shaping the ties. Cricket has frequently been utilised as a diplomatic strategy to promote relations between states. Additionally, cricket has emerged as a significant driver for altering the bilateral ties between South Asian neighbors Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. South Asian countries have been increasingly interested in public diplomacy as a way to sway outside public opinion during the previous ten years. Public diplomacy is a tool used by nations to replace unfavorable opinions of their policies among abroad publics and therefore more reliably achieve their external policy objectives. The main goal of public diplomacy is “changing minds”. Public diplomacy practitioners employ a variety of unique techniques to influence this. For the purpose of fostering enduring ties between people or groups, they make use of cultural and educational exchanges. By serving as a “low-risk testing ground for evaluating the public’s response to another nation for moving toward rapprochement,” sports provide an informal means of discussing official matters. Sports diplomacy’s ongoing influence is due to the “diplomatic amateurism” of the sport’s most prominent participants, athletes and sports authorities.
One of the most notable uses of sport as a diplomatic tool is when it is employed as a means of fostering tighter ties between adversaries. Sports exchanges are frequently used to achieve this goal; the most well-known instance is the ping-pong diplomacy that took place between China and the United States in the early 1970s. This includes India and Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts in cricket. Using the sport of cricket as a political tool to improve or deteriorate diplomatic ties between two cricket-playing nations is known as “cricket diplomacy.” Cricket, which is the second-most popular sport in the world after soccer, is utilised as a political tool to fill the diplomatic gap. However, “cricket diplomacy” was a word created by General Zia, the former president of Pakistan, in 1987 when he attended a test match between India and Pakistan in Jaipur at a time when tensions between the two neighbors were very high. Additionally, Zia used cricket matches as an excuse to meet with officials from the Indian government, laying the foundation for clarifying misunderstandings and fostering better ties between the South Asian neighbors thus diplomatic relations between South Asian countries are governed largely by realism and neo-realism through official channels and is biased by notions of national interest, national identity, and national security. Conflict resolution theory emphasizes both the traditional top-down networks and the bottom-up process of peacemaking, which has increased cultural sensitivity and led to an understanding of the significant role to be played by grassroots organizations in multi-track diplomacy.
If we look at the history, of South Asia, cricket carries the hope of bringing long-lasting peace to a region wracked by conflict for the past 76 years. Even if practically everything else has failed, it may sound dismissive to propose that a sport will succeed in this. However, take into account the following. The entire area is in danger of being destroyed by the growing hostility between India and Pakistan. Years of unsuccessful diplomatic efforts demonstrate the futility of traditional peace initiatives, and unyielding foreign policy views push the two neighbors closer and closer to a nuclear flashpoint. Despite the fact that India and Pakistan share a common language, a new means of communication is urgently needed to end their impasse. Cricket is an acquired taste, slow to pick up but hard to give up so, there is no doubt in the fact that South Asian cricket is becoming a worldwide language that may serve as a solid foundation for establishing common ground in other spheres of life. Cricket has suddenly taken on enormous public health relevance in South Asia due to its ability to foster peace and, as a result, the health and welfare of hundreds of millions of people. Similar is the case of T-20 cricket and the Pakistan super league, as it serves as a connecting rope between the players of different cities and provinces, providing not only the opportunity for a large number of players but improve the relationship between the local actors through cricket diplomacy.
Although games like cricket do not entirely define relationships, they do represent the underlying forces that influence them and somewhat mirror the reality on the ground. Cricket has frequently been used as a diplomatic instrument to enhance ties. In some situations, the game itself acts as a spoiler by defining “winning” and “loser.” Furthermore, the game of cricket has significantly influenced the bilateral ties with South Asian neighbors like Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Furthermore, the game of cricket has significantly influenced the bilateral ties with South Asian neighbors like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan where, T20 cricket’s popularity, particularly franchise-based leagues like Pakistan Super League (PSL), the Indian Premier League (IPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), and has helped to not only internationalize cricket but also foster a cosmopolitan atmosphere amongst nations. Therefore, in this era of soft power, cricket may undoubtedly be employed as a public diplomacy weapon.
The Author is MD IRP/ Faculty Department of H&SS, Bahria University Karachi