"I'm sure the Pakistani crowd will give the Indians a warm welcome," said Pakistan's cricket coach, Javed Miandad. In 1999, "we went to India and had a lovely time. There were no differences between people. We were accepted simply as sportsmen."
The hosts have promised heavy security; attacks by Islamic extremists led to cancelations of a number of international cricket tours to Pakistan in 2002-2003. New Zealand cut short a tour in May 2002 after a deadly bomb blast outside its hotel in Karachi. No players were hurt.
C. Rajamohan, professor of South Asia Studies at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, said sporting contacts were "good therapy" for relations between the two countries. "But they inflame passions and carry the risk of cutting both ways," he added.
Sports certainly can be politicized. The US boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviets replied by leading a boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Sports also can be lucrative.
Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Samiul Hasan said about 8,000 visas are being issued to Indian fans for the tour. He said the board would earn at least US$21 million from TV rights and sponsorship for eight matches, and up to US$1.25 million from ticket sales.
"It will be a complete sellout, no question about it," he said.
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