As a young kid, I was fascinated with cricket. In the 90s, I turned into a huge fan of at least 2 Pakistani cricketers, the greatest fast bowlers of that generation, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. It was such a great pleasure to watch Waqar with his silky smooth run-up, bowling his trademark dipping toe-crushing Yorkers. And Wasim was a magician who could make the ball talk and sing. He had as much variety as the colors of the Rainbow, a different ball every delivery, mesmerizing the batsmen with his swing, speed and artistry.
However, I never supported Team Pakistan, perhaps because of their Government's consistent Anti-Indian postures, perhaps carried away by the rhetoric and jingoism of those days. All this changed in my later years, when I learnt to distinguish between Politics and sports. I have since then not let the political differences between India and Pakistan come in the way of appreciating good cricket. Now, I do often support the Pakistani cricket Team, particularly against the arrogant Australians, at times even against the Sri Lankans. Today, Shoaib Akhtar is my favorite fast bowler. Watching him bowl fast and furious is such a wonderful sight.....the way he comes steaming in, like an airplane taking off, one of the greatest pleasures of modern day cricket! The IPL was such a huge success, when the Pakistani cricketers played side by side with the Indians. We Indians cheered Shoaib, and rooted for him even when he picked up Sachin's wicket. What a wonderful sight that was! Art has the power to transcend the barriers. We should learn to love and appreciate good art when we see it. Sports and music too are forms of Art. Let's respect that and try to keep politics aside from sports. Having said that, were India to clash with Pakistan and were an Indian citizen to support Pakistan, I would find that behavior objectionable but I would not create a big fuss over it. Cheers Sandeep
