Champions Trophy: One-sided games have taken sheen off India-Pak rivalry

Pakistan's defeat to India in Champions Trophy illustrates the gulf in talent between the two countries

Javed Miandad, the fiery, street-smart cricketer who propelled Pakistan cricket to dizzying heights in the 1980s and the 1990s, believes the central plank on which his country operates is izzat – an amalgamation of honour, pride and respect.

 

Sports writer Osman Samiuddin, too, delves into Pakistan’s quest for izzat in his fascinating book, The Unquiet Ones.

 

“In Pakistan, izzat crops up everywhere. Like those casual bystanders who emerge at road accidents or street-side scrap, in almost any debate, in any public conversation,” Samiuddin writes.

 

Along with izzat, Miandad believes it is the unwavering belief – instilled as naturally as birth – that one is good enough to play international cricket that gets ingrained in the psyche of a Pakistani.

 

 

Pride and self-belief – the cornerstones of Pakistaniyat – take a hit every time the Pakistan cricket team loses to India in International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, which has been a recurrent theme for over two decades now.

 

The latest nail was drilled by Virat Kohli, who scored a chanceless unbeaten 100 to take India past the finish line at the ICC Champions Trophy.

 

Pakistan’s drubbing in Dubai on Sunday night not only illustrates the gulf in talent between the neighbours, but such one-sided and desultory affairs also make the ardent cricket lover wonder: Is an India-Pakistan match worth the hype?

 

Across ICC tournaments, Pakistan has defeated India on only two occasions: The 2017 Champions Trophy final in London and the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

 

These days, the India-Pakistan face-off happens only in marquee tournaments like the World Cups, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup. 

 

The two teams no longer play in bilateral tournaments because of the simmering political tensions.

 

This has prompted television broadcasters and advertisers to jump onto the “war minus the shooting” narrative, and label an India versus Pakistan match as cricket’s version of El Clásico (the term for any football match between arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid). But it’s not quite that anymore.

 

India’s dominance has left fans from across the border exasperated.

 

Madan Lal, a key member of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph, believes the reason India-Pakistan matches no longer live up to the excitement is because India has managed to gain a psychological edge over Pakistan.

 

“They (Pakistan) have no system in place, no streamlining of talent. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has no clue. It is a total mess,” Lal tells Business Standard.

 

“Pakistani cricketers are insecure. I think they have developed a mental block while playing India. It happens when you keep losing to a particular team,” he explains.

 

Pakistan is currently perched at the bottom of the World Test Championship rankings. They have failed to reach the knockouts in the last three ODI World Cups, and now find themselves on the brink of getting eliminated from this edition of the Champions Trophy.

 

Concurrently, India as a cricketing nation has risen like a phoenix. India won the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in 2024, and have made it to the knockouts of all ICC tournaments, except the 2021 T20 World Cup.

 

India commands a lion’s share in broadcasting rights, and their depth in talent is now the cricketing world’s envy.

 

It’s not just that Pakistan are leagues behind the current Indian team. They seem to be playing ODI cricket from a bygone era. Their batting lacks firepower, bowling is unimaginative, and their captaincy under Mohammad Rizwan is uninspiring.

 

“Pakistan’s travails in cricket are reflective of how their country is being administered,” Lal adds.

 

Zulqernain Tahir, a Lahore-based journalist, says the gulf between India and Pakistan as cricketing nations will continue to widen as long as Mohsin Naqvi remains the PCB chief. “People who have no knowledge of the game are in power,” he says.

 

When Miandad was at the epicentre of Pakistan cricket, the neighbours were the aggressors and India the nervous wrecks.

 

The boot is now clearly on the other foot.

 

The next time these two proud cricketing nations face-off, broadcasters would do well to turn down the noise.

 

For Pakistan, it will be another quest for izzat.