Over the years, bilateral limited overs events between nations have become few and far between.
T20 leagues are no match for the World Cup. India-Pakistan game on Sunday revealed the pull of national teams
By: Editorial
Updated: October 25, 2022 9:17:50 am
The India-Pakistan World T20 game on Sunday dispelled an overwhelming doubt that the cricketing world was dealing with for a while now. There were those who said that cricketers were preferring the T20 franchise over playing for their country. Now, it can be said that those fears were exaggerated. The India-Pakistan game that was watched by close to a lakh spectators at MCG and millions around the world proved that the lure of country versus country far transcends localised loyalties, however neatly packaged. The inter-country rivalries — be it India vs Pakistan or India vs Australia or New Zealand vs Australia or Bangladesh vs Pakistan — evoke a louder roar and tug harder at heart-strings, than the slam-bang month-long T20 league storms, in a cricket fan.
The reasons are many. First there are only a dozen national teams that have been staples of international cricket and are tattooed on cricket watching brains. Over the years, bilateral limited overs events between nations have become few and far between. With countries playing each other less often, the two World Cups — T20 and 50-overs — have received a recalibration as events to anticipate and look forward to. In contrast, franchise leagues have become a year-long affair. Besides, freelance T20 specialists turn up different franchises, virtually every other month they appear in different colours. This mix ‘n match makes it difficult to exclusively hyphenate a player with his team. While national teams uniting players under one banner, give fans that warm fuzzy comfort of belonging.
In a month’s time, football — the most club-conforming sport in the world — will witness its own iteration of national teams reclaiming fandom split by club loyalties at other times. One month in four years, football does put the country above club as the World Cup syncs beating hearts within a nation-state geography. For cricket, the jersey colour of their teams will always hold a special meaning in the hearts of the fans. Yes, the flood of franchises is sweeping all lands but for cricket to get lit, the World Cup is enough.
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