Hold your breath. India and Pakistan are playing cricket in Dubai today. This somewhat rare display of one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world is being staged for the second time in eight days. And a third encounter during the T20 Asia Cup is very possible.

But what the two teams of the belligerent South Asian countries are playing is not cricket. In a sense, it is politics through other means. That is how their match on Sunday last had triggered a bitter feud on the issue of the Indian players, who had won the match, refusing to shake hands with the Pakistani players.

From Sunday night to Wednesday evening, when the match was set between Pakistan and the UAE, a fierce controversy surrounded the handshake. Pakistan protested against the match referee Andy Pycroft, who – as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) claimed – had conveyed to the Pakistani captain at the time of the toss that there would be no handshakes between the players of the two sides before or after the match.

This was something the PCB was not willing to tolerate. Hence, it threatened that it would pull the Pakistani team out of the Asia Cup if the match referee was not removed from the panel of officials. Eventually, after the suspense had risen to a breaking point, an apology by match referee Andy Pycroft led to Pakistan showing up for the match that had to be delayed for an hour. Pakistan’s not very victory has set the match with India.

Now,........

© The News International