A spat over cricket has sparked diplomatic mudslinging between India and Pakistan in the latest setback to efforts to improve relations between the two nuclear rivals, at loggerheads since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
An auction of players at the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket tournament, ended with no bids for 11 Pakistanis this week amid fears Indian teams could have visa problems for the cricketers.
Pakistan, always sensitive to any hint of a snub by its neighbor, was furious. Some of the Pakistani players who failed to get a bid from the Indian sides are considered world class cricketers, such as all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
Indian TV stations aired pictures of straw effigies of IPL chief Lalit Modi burning on Pakistani streets yesterday.
“I want to make it clear that whether it is India or any other country in the world, their citizens would have to face [the] same behavior as meted out to our people,” Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted by Pakistan’s state-run APP news agency as saying on Wednesday.
The Indian government dismissed Pakistan’s concerns.
“The government has nothing to do with the IPL,” Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said yesterday. “So Pakistan will have to draw that line between where government of India is connected, where government of India is an actor.”
The deterioration in relations comes at a bad time for the region. India’s and Pakistan’s foreign ministers are both due to attend a meeting in London next week where leading Western powers will focus on a new plan for Afghanistan.
“The IPL gives Pakistan an additional issue to prepare its ground that India is unfriendly, and such things will vitiate the atmosphere [of the London meeting],” said B.G. Verghese, a professor with the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research.
Cricket has often been a source of strengthening ties.
In the past, politicians from both sides have turned to cricket to reduce tension and tried to boost cultural links in what experts have called “Track-II Diplomacy” at times of intractable diplomatic deadlocks.
“The IPL saga brings home the fact that a lack of progress on political dialogue will cast a shadow on areas where we have done relatively well like culture and sports,” said Lalit Mansingh, India’s former foreign secretary.
IN-HOUSE BUSINESS: LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said that the reason for the team’s poor form was not due to Paul, but the player was not a good fit for them Chris Paul’s return stint with the Los Angeles Clippers has come to an abrupt and stunning end, with the franchise parting ways with one of its greatest players in a late-night meeting on Wednesday that adds another layer of drama to the team’s terrible start this season. The news was delivered in a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, that ended at about 2am, Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank said. Frank said he made the decision to sever ties with Paul on Sunday then told the franchise’s career assist leader that he needed to see him on Tuesday in Atlanta. Frank did not confirm
Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday scored twice and had an assist as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 to end a three-match winless streak in La Liga. Eduardo Camavinga also found the net for Madrid as they moved back within one point of Barcelona, who beat Atletico Madrid 3-1 on Tuesday. Both 19th-round matches were moved forward because Real Madrid, Barcelona, Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid are to play in the Supercopa de Espana semi-finals in Saudi Arabia next month. Real Madrid were coming off league draws against Girona, Elche and Rayo Vallecano. It was their second win in their past six matches in
SEESAW CONTEST: The Pistons remain top of the Eastern Conference after battling to a win over the Hawks in a game that saw the lead change 27 times The Phoenix Suns on Monday shrugged off an injury to Devin Booker to end the Los Angeles Lakers’ seven-game winning streak with an emphatic 125-108 victory on the road. Booker exited in the first quarter, but the loss of the star point guard did little to halt the flow of Phoenix points over the remainder of the game. Dillon Brooks led the Phoenix scoring with 33 points, while Collin Gillespie added 28 — including eight three-pointers — as the Suns romped to victory. The Lakers were left ruing a colossal 22 turnovers — at a cost of 32 Suns points — on a
PINA BRACE: Claudia Pina scored in the 61st and 74th minutes, while Vicky Lopez added one as Spain notched their third victory in a final in the past four tournaments Claudia Pina scored twice and Germany crumbled on Tuesday as Spain retained the UEFA Women’s Nations League title with a 3-0 victory in the final’s second leg. Vicky Lopez also scored after Pina finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute with Germany stubbornly hanging on as Spain had done in the first leg, a 0-0 draw in Kaiserslautern on Friday. Spain were without three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati, who broke her leg in training on Sunday. Lopez took Bonmati’s place and Spain dominated from the start. Esther Gonzalez swept the ball just past the post and Mariona Caldentey forced a save
RSS