India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar clarified India’s stance when it comes to relations with Pakistan and used a cricket analogy to explain India’s foreign policy towards Pakistan, amidst the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 stand-off.
S Jaishankar made the remarks during an event commemorating the release of former India cricketer Mohinder Amarnath’s memoir ‘Fearless’. Jaishankar stated that India’s stance toward Pakistan has shifted from the “traditional side-on position” to an “open-chested position.”
“You said you played them better because, from the traditional side-on position, you now move to an open-chested position. I couldn’t have found a better description for a Pakistan policy that time,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar was alluding to India’s trip to Pakistan in 1982. Several renowned cricketers, including Amarnath, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kapil Dev, were on the Indian team during that tour. India had lost 3-0 in the six-match Test series.
S Jaishankar remembers the 1983 World Cup and how India’s triumph changed the cricketing world
Speaking further, Jaishankar emphasized the significance of India’s victory in the 1983 World Cup. He stated that while Pakistan and Sri Lanka won the tournament later, the influence on cricket was not as significant as India’s historic victory.
He emphasized that India’s role in the cricket world changed dramatically with the World Cup victory.
“It was not just the inflection point, but the man of the match of the inflection point. Pakistan won it at one point and Sri Lanka won it at one point. But nowhere else was it as big an inflection point as it was in the history of cricket. Because, if you look at India’s role in world cricket after 1983, it fundamentally changed,” Jaishankar said.
Champions Trophy fate will be decided today.
EAM @DrSJaishankar wonderfully co-related foreign policy with cricket at the launch of Mohinder Amarnath’s Fearless.
Here’s EAM on cricket and India’s Pak policy.
My take- Ind won’t travel to Pak and its clear. @RevSportzGlobal pic.twitter.com/b0empoQBLV
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) November 29, 2024
Jaishankar’s words come as India and Pakistan’s bilateral relationship is once again under the spotlight. While Pakistan has the hosting rights for the Champions Trophy 2025, the BCCI has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board that India will not travel over the border for the competition.
India has not visited Pakistan since 2008, when bilateral relations between the two nations reached an all-time low following the terrorist attack in Mumbai. The BCCI also halted all bilateral relations with the PCB.
India and Pakistan last played any bilateral cricket in 2012-13 and since then, both sides have clashed only in ICC and ACC events. Pakistan did visit India for 2016 T20 World Cup and most recently 2023 World Cup, but India has refused to travel to Pakistan for any cricket matches.
