Let India tour Pakistan next month but let's remember, this is never just cricket. And that's a bloody shame.

The more romantic among us are moved to measure it with the Ashes. It is an artless comparison.

The numbers themselves tell us something is askew.

India and Pakistan have played each other 47 times - India five wins, Pakistan nine wins, 33 draws, the latter statistic perhaps reflecting the excessive, and unfortunate, caution with which the contests are approached.

England and Australia, just from 1948 onwards, have contested more than 150 Tests.

I guess hate keeps getting in our way.

Reasonable people want nations with so much in common to end their enmity - but cricket cannot fix this Can cricket help diplomacy? Your views

Australia versus England brings with it a certain baggage, but mostly it is sport, ball versus bat.

Jocular taunts are hurled, national characteristics mocked, but there is only an edge of malice.

When India play Pakistan, it is about war paint, drumbeats - an alarming jingoism.

It may bring out the best in our teams but often the worst in us.

Stupidity

Already there is news of a TV network dubbing this encounter the "LOC series".

Let us watch Shoaib Akhtar thunder in to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar... but do not be fooled

Apparently they mean Lions of Cricket [rather than the Line of Control that separates divided Kashmir] but it suggests stupidity has no finishing line.

Let us go and compete in Karachi and Lahore, but let us be clear on this much: Whoever says sport heals wounds has been reading too much Hans Christian Andersen.

The Olympics, for instance, always begin with speeches on world peace but it is laughable.

The two Koreas may have marched together at the Games, but the hostilities endure.

I'm certainly no cynic, but sport as symbolism has limited value.

The distrust between India and Pakistan is too deep to be bridged by a cricket match.

Let us not expect men in white flannels to do what politicians for years have been unable to.

Their strength is cover drives not diplomacy, and it is foolish to invest cricket with more importance than it deserves.

Let us watch Shoaib Akhtar thunder in to bowl at Sachin Tendulkar (the only present Indian player to have played a Test there), but do not be fooled.

The players are not too thrilled about the tour. Families in India read about assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf and anxiety predictably follows.

"How safe is it? What's the situation there?" the players are asking.

Cocooned

Once, no Indian cricket team touring Pakistan would have been touched.

Any group, fundamentalist or otherwise, who picked on them would have been ostracised.

But there is no logic to terrorism, no reason to suicide bombers except the creation of chaos.

Indian cricket board chief Dalmiya - petitioned by the players?

The world has changed and even cricketers, who profess not to read newspapers, have heard about that.

The team, so it is strongly rumoured, has written to Jagmohan Dalmiya, head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, asking for three to four weeks rest before the tour to Pakistan.

The players ask that the Tests not be played back-to-back and express their concerns over security.

There is talk that the team will be provided prime minister-style security and unquestionably the Pakistanis will ensure the Indians are well looked after and that their hospitality is hard to match.

But if the players are cocooned in their rooms, prevented from walking the streets or interacting with the public, shadowed by grim machine-gun-toting policemen from hotel to ground, is that the atmosphere cricket should be played in?

Even for those who view this as less cricket and more a peace mission must ask themselves: What good is it if ambassadors are forced to live on room service?

Reasonable people want nations with so much in common to end their enmity.

They want the killings in Kashmir to stop. They want the nuclear muscle-flexing to end.

But cricket cannot fix this.

If we can remember that, let's go ahead with this tour.

A wonderfully generous Madras crowd stood in 1999 to applaud the victorious Pakistanis and it was a moment of sweetness to last forever.

For that day it was just about cricket. That's the way it should be.

To read Rohit Brijnath's future columns, bookmark bbcnews.com/southasia

Here is a selection of comments about this article.

We see the same pattern every time. India announces a tour or series against Pakistan raising the expectations of everyone on both sides. Then as regular as clockwork, shortly before the cricket is due to begin they pull out citing the Kashmir as an excuse or in this case security. One wonders why they announce the games in the first place. Why should they have security concerns in Pakistan? Has anything ever happened to them there? Pakistan went to India despite death threats from Hindu fundamentalists who also dug up the pitches, whats happened to discourage the Indians? The thought of facing Shoaib and Sami in a test match? Its clear to see that the Pakistanis have the attitude of 'anywhere, any time and any place'. If this was matched by the Indians maybe we'd get some good cricket.
Ahmad, England

Let India tour Pakistan next month but let's remember, this is never just cricket. But Mr Rohit, no way that's a bloody shame.
Yousuf Anwar , pakistan

I do not think that it will be safe for Indian cricketers to play cricket in Pakistan. Either way they wii face problems if they win or Loose
Ramnik Ganatra, UK

Whilst I have to agree with Mr Brijnath's article, as a UK citizen of Pakistani origin who has travelled 5 times recently to India on business, I have to sadly say that people in India suffer from too much one-sided disinformation and thus have a far more hostile and negative view of Pakistan, than the other way around. It is therefore not surprising where the feeble retisence shown by India's players comes from. I have often said that it would indeed be an education for most Indians to visit Pakistan - not just for cosmetic hospitality, but to learn to think big, act big and widen your horizons. So let that education begin with India's visit to Pakistan - and let those in both countries remember that it is after all, only cricket: there are surely more important things in life, otherwise one's life is truly sad! Religous zealots and vested interests on both sides of the border, please also take note.
Shaukat Sadullah, England

I think this sereis will be the best one in the game of cricket. Not only Shoaib vs Tendulker but also thousands of fans on across the border in India and Pakistan. But we have to patient and to see the cricket as game not a war.
Tausif Khan, Pakistan

I agree with the spirit of the article. It is not positive/ negative, but mature. In fact I would prefer the Pakistani team coming to India which is a much safer place. So let the tour to Pakistan be cancelled and the series be conducted in India.
John, India

Hello there Mr. Rohit! I went through your column, it was very interesting and realistic in views. I got the feeling that you looked more to the darker side of the picture, while one should always see that the glass of water is half filled. At the end of day there is something to excite about for more than a billion masses of subcontinent after four five years. We should not lose the oppotunity that can bring harmony between the two... Let the Islamabad & New Delhi governments play their own chess. Which is the favarite game on both sides people love to watch? - Cricket between men in Green & Blue. Lets hope for a lot of cheers, laughters, OOoowws, AAaahhs, yeeeaahhhs. Ilyas Khan Peshawar
Ilyas Khan, Pakistan

Why such kind of articles are written which haven't any facts? When Pakistan went to Indian tour, none of our columnists ever wrote anything about the security things, even Bal Thackeray threat many times. The thing only as a mad viewer of cricket I know is that they should play cricket. Don't play politics and don't play with the emotions of people. I hope Indians will get best possible hospitality on this tour. I am hopeful
Ali Shazad, Pakistan

Nicely written but sounds too much underconfidence. Let the two great teams face, let the public have entertainment, let some hearts beats run faster, let the momentum going. Of course, unless humanity and sense of reasoning fails to prevail at both side of LOC, no attempt to bring the seperated cousins together will be futile. But, attempts should be made to thaw the frozen relationship, and what would be better than the game of cricket which dominates the emotion of the subcontinent. Thanks KK
Dr. Krishna Kaphle, Nepal/Taiwan

I think you have completely shown the wrong picture in this article. I agree with the facts that its like a comic scene when TV channels give the series names like LOC etc. However I think you have to start somewhere. This will definitely bring respect amongst us Pakistanis for Indians because they would've kept trust in us. I think as far as the series goes it will be a cracker. Talking about the security of the players, well let me tell you one thing mates, us Pakistani are humans as well and I don't think anyone would harm a sportmen, espcecially Indians whom you might not know Pakistani people respect a lot. I think they would be safe to go anywhere within the city and I can gurantee they will be loaded with people for their autographs and tips. I think it will be a great sucess. I'm greatful to the BCCI president for this marvelous tour. Kind Regards
Rehan, Pakistan

I agree with the author that this crater of hatred is pretty hard to fill but we have to start from somewhere. Moreover, do not rely completely on the politicians for the peace process to take place. More interaction between people of both countries will make us realize that after all we are afterall same in all aspect of our lives. But at least we will be able to watch the most exciting contest between ball and bat.
Ashutosh Pandey, India

Pakistan and India's cricket teams get along best on and off the field. I really believe that a minority is keeping the hatred alive. Deep down inside, the majority of Indians and Pakistanis know that friendship is inevitable. Inshallah.
Mansur Janjua, Jelhum, Punjab, Pakistan

Give me a break man. Stop crying. the tour is on. nothings gonna happen to anyone. what is gonna happen is that india will get beat. so dont make excuses from now. wait and see. we beat you in your home country, and we'll do the same back in pk.
jahiz barlas, usa

This is very good that india is playing against the pakistan
Mohan R kamble, india

They say that cab drivers know how to run the country best. I could say the same for someone who has been asked to write about cricket. Its a real shame that everything Indian is drawn within a Pakistani frame of reference. If you've been given the opportunity to write about cricket. Stick to cricket! Treat sport as sport. Yes, I agree that tensions override some exchanges, but maybe if we paid less attention to the borders, we could get over the obsession and hopefully someday have a cricket team that has Pakistani bowlers and Indian batsmen.
Abhishek Dahiya, UK

Mr. Brijnath is absolutely right to say that distrust between India and Pakistan is too deep to be bridged by Test matches. It is also true that the public mood in Pakistan is not very India-friendly, and the security situation is also not very reassuring. However, in the best sub-continental tradition, Mr Brijnath, while recalling the generous applause received by the Pakistanis at Madras in 1999, conveniently forgets Bal Thakrey's thugs who dug up the pitch at Bombay to prevent an India-Pak match, not to mention the last test match played between the two sides in Calcutta, which had to be completed in an empty stadium after serious crowd trouble. For any hope of rooting out the distrust existing between us, people like Mr. Brijnath will have to take the initiative in breaking this strong tradition of self-righteousness that prevails at all levels on both sides.
M Jamaluddin, Qatar

I am sorry i do not agree with Rohit Brijnath's article or the spirit it was written in.It seems to be the writing of one who has no hope and has probably never entertained any either. I am from Pakistan and i agree at least with the sentiment, nay the prayer that hostilities end between the two countries and peace prevails, because it is not the people who want war, but the war mongers who benifit from war. the common people hardly ever want war, unless it is forced upon them, unless their country is invaded and they are forced to fight. It is the politician's and the people who sell weapons who profit from war and who want war. Let us send a message to these people that their control is coming to an end, their war-mongering is coming to an end and their money making out of the misery of humanity is coming to an end. Let this cricket tour be the first step to peace which the people of both countries crave. It is not the politicians who will stop the war, it is the people, and sports can be used to heal and show solidarity. i do not want sports to mingle with politics and thus i am happy that the tour is going ahead despite people who want war or write thinly veiled articles professing gloom. Let sports not be effected by politics or war mongering, and let sports heal all the wounds that politics cannot
Shafqat Ayaz, UK

I find Rohit's remarks, about hatred and mistrust between the peoples of India and Pakistan, quite interesting. Why not think in terms of the Indian team being a delegation of embassadors who are there to promote better relations. It will also give the Pakistani crowds an opportunity to think peace, because that is what the two countries are stiving to achieve, in which case there will be a lot of conversions from negative to positive thinking, I HOPE.
Zahir, UK

Indo- Pak cricket is marred by the politics specially the Kashmir dispute, even being a Kashmiri I am fed up with it. I hope in the near future an acceptable solution is found so that cricket can be freed from politics.
Amaad, UK

Well, it was India which politicised the game. Political differences aside, cricket is a game not a political tool to blackmail any country. Let the politicians and diplomats handle the peace negotiations and let players play the game - unless of course, if you don't want peace in the region!
Ozair Khan, USA

Cricket will certainly help bringing people of both countries toghether. it is most popular game in sub continent and both countries have some great players. in 1978 cricket ties were restored after 17 years and series in pakistan was highly successful.this time indian are coming after more than 10 years.
Abdul Jabbar, Dallas USA

I couldn't agree more with you on this subject. Your are right on money.
Mohammad Ismail, Pakistani American

Dear Rohit, Who told you that polititions want peace?? And who told you that BCCI wants some "pure cricket" out of this tour? The unfortunate fact is that polititions in both the contries want war, and board wants money!!! It's as simple as that. -nilesh
Nilesh, India

A very well written article, a balanced one indeed!
Syed F Imtiaz, Canada

Mr. Brijnath, the days of old are over; we are in a new age and if you can't understand that with your skeptism and negativity then whatever credentials you have that proved for some reason worthy of BBC then BBC is in fault for paying attention to your chirpings.
Rafay Siddiqui, USA

Nice article Rohit, but I sense a hint of negativity throughout the article. True, cricket may not be the end all solution for India and Pakistan's woeful relationship, but it is a great start for patchwork to take place. Growth can only take place once trust has been established, and a senior Indian visiting Pakistan goes a long way in building the ground work. Our cricketers(India and Pakistan's) are leading the way, now we as a people must follow suit.
Caesar, India

An India Pakistan fixture is always more than just a game of cricket. If Pakistan could tour India despite pitch invasion threats from radical Hindu groups and if India can plan an extended tour of Pakistan despite major security concerns about their individual safety, that shows sportsmen would do for their countries what their politicians often wouldn't: to make sacrifices. No wonder sports always supersedes politics and that's how it should be everytime we hear or talk about another India Pakistan game.
Hasan Faruq, Bangladesh

New Zealand played in Pakistan, it was a wonderful series, no security problems, I don't get why India keeps trying to deface Pakistan... let us remember it was in India that the Pakistani team was attacked in 1996, it was in India that extremist Hindus sabatoged the grounds, not in Pakistan.
John MaCvoy, NewZealand

Rohit Brijnath's article - even if realistic - is far too pessimistic. What is needed at this time is for journalists and the media to project greater hope, greater optimism, and greater confidence that the India-Pakistan relationship is on the mend. We need a chorus of hope, and not a shrill of fear.
Venkat Narayan,

It always helps advertisers to hype an event beyond reasonable proportions, fact is, a lot of money is at stake here, not just from brand names who want to capitalize on such a rare and important game, but also the bookies. I had read recently about how a match between India and Australia was worth at least a few hundred crores rupees, a conservative estimate would be 44 million USD. Thus, one can conclude that the Indo-Pak encounter could be worth at least double that rate. Both the cricketing boards, especially the PCB, have too much to loose if this game does not move forward.
Tanmay Kudyadi, India

This seems to come from a guy who has already given up hope for an Indian victory on Pakistan soil. I dont see nay harm even if the series is considered as LOC. I am all for the indians to have some rest before they go to Pakistan. The last excuse we all want is fatigue. Let the competition begin and let cricket prevail.
Tauseef Aalam, Scotland

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