The possibility that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman might fight a war on the same side as Israel was not on our 2026 bingo card.
Especially as European countries like Spain and the UK sit it out.
This morning there was an article, quite naturally, in the media that the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi was unhappy with the team's performance and conveyed his displeasure to the team manager.
And that one item explains the single largest reason, beyond the talent, beyond the money and the economics why Indian cricket today is far ahead of Pakistan cricket, and all other Indian sport.
For the truth is that in the 21st century at least, whatever happened in the BCCI board rooms did not impact how cricket was run on the ground.
I was in ESPN Star Sports when the BCCI was fighting a huge internal battle about broadcast rights, saw Sharad Pawar overthrow Dalmiya and his team, saw Lalit Modi and his vision for cricket.
Through that period, the age groups game went on, the Ranji trophy was played regularly. If anything, some of the Challenger and other formats were tweaked for better results. And the IPL was born
While at KKR, saw the IPL move to South Africa in a titanic battle between the BCCI and the home ministry. The change of IPL Commissioner, the fixing scam of 2013, the Mudgal committeee, the BCCI being run by an interim President from 2017, the return of the elected body.
Through all that India kept playing top level cricket, won two World Cups, dominated the Champions trophy, the test team won in Australia and the IPL just went from strength to strength.
There have been seismic changes in the BCCI, but the game on the ground remained unchanged, the show went on, and not one of the administrators allowed that to slip. Or allowed a President, be it Dalmiya or Pawar to dictate player selection for a tour, or saw a board member ordering the coach or captain to change a player.
The BCCI endured finally because of its fundamentally strong structure which allowed the game to be insulated from the politics of running a game.
And so while stars might come and stars might go, and administrators might come and go, Indian cricket goes on growing.
Other Indian sports have done well when driven by either a star perfomer or two or a charismatic administrator, but always stumbled when they left or retired
No other Indian sport has this powerful separation between the actual game and its administrators, and nor certainly does Pakistan cricket.
And that perhaps is the real story.
In an interview I asked Imran Khan why Pakistan beats India so often. He said India kept losing because they were so afraid of being defeated by Pakistan.
That equation has completely reversed. It’s Pakistan that are paranoid about losing to India.
#INDvsPAK
For the second year in a row, the government is issuing misleading statements about the Henley Passport Index.
Last year, the Pakistani passport had a visa free score of 33, meaning holders could access 33 countries without a visa.
This year, the number has dropped to 31 destinations.
#Pakistan’s hastily adopted constitutional amendments seriously undermine judicial independence & raise grave concerns about military accountability & respect for the rule of law.
These changes risk subjecting the judiciary to political interference & executive control.
➡️ https://t.co/NCVGla5Gc9
Breaking News: Pakistan’s army chief secured expanded powers over the military and lifelong immunity after lawmakers approved a constitutional reform. https://t.co/ERYDNXi7Xh
My dear friend @SyedUzairNizami with Global Sumud Flotilla is stuck in Cyprus, after their ship was illegally intercepted by Israeli forces. Cyprus doesn't have a Pakistani embassy and he needs visa assistance so he can return to Pakistan safely. Whatsapp him:+923124469446