Indian cricketers in Pakistan

Nuclearised India and Pakistan have lately taken some dramatic steps to come to terms with each other. Overtures that were regarded as unimaginable only a year ago have been made by the two countries. We are not going to make a short shrift of this change of moods and hearts by looking at it as an upshot of pressures being exerted by the USA on them. For, such attitudinal changes can only come from a deeper self realisation of the grater stakes involved.

The highly elating resumption of cricketing combats between India and Pakistan has to be placed in the overall context of improving relations at the political level. So mutually endearing Islamabad and New Delhi are trying to become to each other can be gauged from their scrupulous avoidance of negative references. Even Pakistan's testing of a missile the other day was downplayed by the Indian media judging by past standards. Even opening of communication routes between Pakistan and India administered Kashmirs is said to be under study.

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Let cricket played in its true spirit bring an impetus to a vitalising spirit between the two major South Asian players. The region will benefit immensely from it while the rest of the world heaves a sigh of relief over a normalisation of relations that saw three wars made in the last half a century.