Sixteen matches in over six years.
That is the trickle that we know currently as the India-Pakistan relationship on the field. This is not quite the detente of the ’60s and ’70s, when they did not play for 18 years.
Neither, however, is it the pragmatism of the ’80s and ’90s, where, despite going periods without regular tours, they found ways of maintaining bilateral ties around the world.
Last night as they faced off again at the Asia Cup in Mirpur, it was easy to wonder exactly what kind of relationship phase they are in at the moment.
Let us first acknowledge there is nothing in cricket like this. That much was evident in Pakistan's one-wicket win. Every ball in cricket has its own little story, but in India-Pakistan matches, each one heaves with so much more drama.
Every little ball, each act, is full-term pregnant with consequences. Potentially each one is a book, a movie, a career and a life all on its own.
On Sunday there was the whole gamut: a dropped catch, a missed stumping, incorrect umpiring decisions, certain boundaries prevented at the last gasp.
With each act, the match swung. Sunday night was ridiculous in perfectly encapsulating what cannot ever be actually and fully encapsulated.
It was most ridiculous in remaining perched on the thinnest edge until the very end.
Even as Shahid Afridi hit those last two balls for sixes, even as they were mis-hit and soared high, the match crept further to a tip that minutes before did not even exist.
Plenty of those Afridi hits have landed in a fielder’s hands. Maybe with bigger boundaries, they still would have.
They did not, but had they, we still would have had another indelible memory in our store that houses these contests.
These match narratives are not unique in and of themselves. Cricket throws them up fairly regularly.
But, in these contests, the narratives are more intense, sometimes darker, more petulant – but always so much more.
So, India-Pakistan remains a rivalry primarily because an absence of contests does not easily erase an entire history.
Additionally, all the games, other than the limited-overs tour Pakistan undertook in late 2012, have been one-off contests in high-profile tournaments.
Usually prolonged participation in the tournament has been at stake, so that the unique edge and tension that constitutes a rivalry has remained and the Asia Cup would be even more irrelevant but for an India-Pakistan match.
If anything, that has sharpened its nature, even if it can be convincingly argued that India-Pakistan contests might do better without necessarily carrying higher stakes.
There is no longer even the regular, defanging neutrality of Sharjah or Toronto to cool those things down.
But it is also not a rivalry in any real sense of the word. Rivalries require familiarity and a certain degree of regularity.
They need sustenance.
Right now we are reduced to relying on organisers such as the International Cricket Council (ICC) finding ways to ensure they meet at least once in every ICC tournament.
So much has happened since the last time these two had regular bilateral interaction that it feels like it should constitute a new history.
A fresh generation of players has emerged on both sides. India has conquered the world and lost it, too.
Pakistan never had the world, but has lost its way spectacularly in it. It needs reminding that today, the morning after, marks half a decade since Pakistan effectively lost the right to host home matches.
Actually, forget six years. Much has happened in the last two months alone that compels a resumption.
The BCCI, and the boards of England and Australia, have aligned to form a new world order. In that world, Pakistan is untethered, drifting as one of the smaller boards in a sea of irrelevance.
Like every other board, they need the BCCI and matches with India. Over the last six years, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been chasing the BCCI for matches. The BCCI has not been keen.
Unlike every other board, the PCB has not yet signed onto the new world governance. Their official approval would be nice, but it is not necessary, so as far as bargaining chips go, the PCB does not have a particularly strong one.
Carrots have been dangled their way, but nothing would help dispel fears of how cricket now goes than the BCCI signing on for at least one full series with the PCB. They do not need to play Pakistan. Financially, the BCCI has enough eggs in enough baskets to live and profit without it.
But as last night proved, as any number of their recent games have underscored time and again, cricket needs a full renewal of an unmatched rivalry.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at SprtNationalUAE
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
