Why India-Pakistan Cricket Diplomacy Did Not Work The Way Ping-Pong Diplomacy Worked For US, China

Unlike Ping-Pong diplomacy, which facilitated reconciliation between leaders before the people, in the Indian subcontinent, the argument has been for fostering harmony among the people before leaders.

Pakistan cricket team captain Wasim Akram (R) introduces the members of his team to then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (C) prior to the start a Test match between the arch-rivals in February 1999. A sudden flurry of diplomatic activity between Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif had raised hopes of a new spirit of detente between the two neighbours, just a couple of months before the Kargil war started.

Source : Getty

The Ping-Pong diplomacy, which refers to the exchange of table-tennis teams in the early seventies between the US and China, had led to an eventual thaw in the Sino-US relations. But a similar cricket diplomacy between India and Pakistan has not borne fruits, as the sometimes on sometimes off dialogue process is yet to see a full-fledged return of players to the Indian and Pakistan stadia in full bilateral format. It requires an amicable atmosphere of talks for the leaders and diplomats to