The recent Asia Cup has exposed the shameful depths to which Indian cricket administration has sunk under the political machinations of the Modi government. What unfolded in Dubai was not merely a sporting event, but a choreographed display of nationalist theater that has irreparably damaged cricket's integrity and transformed the gentleman's game into a crude instrument of Hindu nationalist propaganda.
The spectacle began with India's refusal to accept the Asia Cup trophy from Asian Cricket Council chairman Mohsin Naqvi, citing his Pakistani nationality as grounds for their petulant boycott. This unprecedented breach of sporting protocol was not an isolated incident of poor sportsmanship, but rather the culmination of a systematic campaign to weaponize cricket for political gain. Throughout the tournament, Indian players deliberately avoided handshakes with Pakistani counterparts, turning basic sporting courtesy into a calculated insult. The message was clear: under Modi's administration, cricket has been reduced to an extension of India's jingoistic foreign policy.
The nadir of this political manipulation came with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's disgraceful social media post celebrating India's victory by directly linking it to operation "Sindoor", the military operation against Pakistan. Modi's tweet, "#OperationSindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same - India wins! Congrats to our cricketers," represents a sickening trivialization of military conflict and a callous disrespect for the lives lost in border clashes. By equating a cricket match with warfare, Modi has not only degraded the sport but also dishonored the memory of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The systematic capture of Indian cricket administration by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has reached staggering proportions. Jay Shah, son of Home Minister Amit Shah, now controls the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and will soon chair the International Cricket Council. This blatant nepotism exemplifies everything wrong with India's approach to cricket governance. The younger Shah's meteoric rise from obscurity to cricket's most powerful position is not based on merit or expertise, but purely on his family's political connections. His father previously headed the Gujarat Cricket Association before installing Jay Shah as his successor, creating a cricket dynasty that mirrors the political machinery of the BJP.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has transformed into a willing accomplice in the Modi government's Hindu nationalist agenda. Under the current administration, cricket stadiums have become venues for political rallies, with the world's largest cricket stadium named after Modi himself. The BCCI has attempted to force the Indian team to wear saffron jerseys - the color of Hindu nationalism - instead of traditional blue when playing Pakistan. These are not coincidences but deliberate attempts to infuse cricket with communal symbolism.
The politicization extends beyond symbolic gestures to actual policy decisions that demonstrate India's contempt for sporting principles. The Indian government's selective sports policy, which permits cricket matches with Pakistan only in multilateral tournaments while banning bilateral series, exposes the cynical calculation behind these decisions. This policy is not driven by genuine security concerns but by the electoral benefits of anti-Pakistan posturing. The government maintains this hostility precisely because cricket matches against Pakistan generate massive viewership and provide convenient opportunities for nationalist grandstanding.
The BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia's announcement of a ₹210 million cash reward for the team immediately after the Asia Cup controversy reveals the transactional nature of this relationship. The board has essentially incentivized players to participate in political theater, corrupting their role as sportspeople and turning them into paid performers in the government's propaganda machine. This financial manipulation ensures player compliance with the administration's political agenda.
The damage inflicted on cricket's international reputation is already evident. Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi correctly identified India's behavior as "dragging war into sport" and exposing the "desperation" that characterizes the current Indian approach. Even neutral observers have condemned India's actions as unprecedented breaches of sporting etiquette. The controversy has reduced the Asia Cup final to a farce, with the trophy being carried away by organizers while Indian players celebrated with an imaginary trophy.
The institutional capture is so complete that even cricket legends like Kapil Dev find themselves forced to plead for the sport to remain free from political interference. This plea itself is an indictment of how far cricket has fallen under the current administration. The sport that once served as a bridge between communities has been transformed into a weapon of division.
The Modi government's approach represents a fundamental perversion of sporting values. By subordinating cricket to narrow political objectives, the administration has destroyed the sport's capacity to foster goodwill and mutual respect. The handshake controversy, trophy boycott, and militaristic rhetoric have created new lows in sporting conduct that will take years to overcome.
The international cricket community must recognize that under the current Indian administration, cricket has ceased to be a sport and has become a tool of state propaganda. The systematic politicization, nepotistic appointments, and deliberate provocation of opponents reveal a cricket board that has abandoned sporting principles in favor of serving political masters. The Asia Cup controversy is not an aberration but the logical culmination of years of political interference that has corrupted Indian cricket from within.
Cricket deserves better than to be reduced to a vehicle for Hindu nationalist posturing and anti-Pakistan hostility. Until Indian cricket administration is freed from political control and returns to genuine sporting values, every tournament involving India will remain tainted by the specter of manufactured controversies designed to serve electoral rather than sporting interests.
Comments
Post a Comment