During the 1996 World Cup, the writer Mike Marqusee traversed the subcontinent, taking in not just the cricket but the ways in which the sport was shaped by money, power, and national identities. The book he produced, War Minus the Shooting, is a rollicking retelling of a boisterous tournament as well as a shrewd, prophetic analysis of the evolution of cricket. Marqusee died in 2015, but he would have recognised so much of what colours cricket in 2021: the sport's commercial crassness and the might of the Indian board, but also the crisp athleticism of the finest players. And he would have bemoaned how ugly nationalism has soured cricket between India and Pakistan, especially given his memory of one of the most splendid moments of the 1996 World Cup: a game of South Asian solidarity before the tournament began, in which India and Pakistan fielded a joint team against Sri Lanka.
After four hours' sleep, I boarded a three-wheeler to the Premadasa Stadium at Khettarama, in Colombo's north-eastern suburbs. Above the broad avenue leading to the ground, the government had hung banners declaring: 'Long live India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka friendship', 'We salute your magnificent gesture of solidarity', 'We salute the brave sons of India and Pakistan', 'Greetings to SAARC solidarity.' Neat rows of schoolchildren in starched white uniforms lined the route, waiting to welcome the visiting cricketers.
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