Asia Cup: Cricket’s biggest rivalry returns

Updated On: 31 August, 2023 07:23 AM IST | Kandy | Santosh Suri

With no bilateral series between India and Pakistan for a decade, millions of cricket fans have been deprived of a historic sporting battle that’s even bigger than the Ashes; Asia Cup and upcoming ODI World Cup are all set to renew this famous contest

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India skipper Rohit Sharma and Pakistan captain Babar Azam prior to their Asia Cup T20I match at Dubai last year. Pic/AFP

The bitter rivalry between India and Pakistan has cast a long, dark shadow on relations between the South Asian neighbours, be it political, economic, diplomatic or sporting. The biggest repercussion has been on the ties between the two cricketing powers, so much so that there has been no bilateral series for a decade.

Highly passionate fans

This isolation, on the one hand, has deprived millions of cricket fans worldwide to savour a great sporting rivalry, which is even greater than what is seen in the Ashes. On the other, it arouses great passion among fans on either side of the border whenever an ICC or an ACC tournament is scheduled. This time it’s no different, with both teams set to play one another at least twice at the ongoing Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. And if luck favours the two, we could see a much-anticipated Indo-Pak final in Colombo on September 17. And this is just the precursor, as India and Pakistan are set to play a big-ticket ICC Cricket World Cup match in Ahmedabad on October 14. However, as it’s a round-robin format among 10 teams, their only other potential match-up could be in the semi-final (at Kolkata on November 16) or the final (in Ahmedabad on November 19).

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