The ongoing 'IPL war' between childhood enemies India and Pakistan reminds us that even though we would like to believe that sports and politics function independently, the reality is far from that assumption.
A prominent example of sports being 'politicised' in history dates back to the 1936 Olympics, when Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler turned the international sports event into an opportunity to prove Aryan supremacy.
While Hitler emerged triumphant with German athletes clinching most of the medals, the international community which saw the Nazis as 'more human again', hoped that it was a peaceable interlude.
However, the fact that the 1936 Olympics is today known as the 'The Nazi Olympics' and the chapters on second World War and the Holocaust tells the tale of what was behind the dictator's victory.
Coming back to the context of India, Pakistan and cricket, the fact that a match between the two countries still continuing to draw such a crowd itself has underlying historical, political, and social factors.
The recent 'freeze' of matches between India and Pakistan over the countries' bitter battle on cross border terrorism becomes yet another example of how politics and sport are intertwined.
The national teams, while playing in an international arena, become symbols or representations of a country's might and strength. Therefore, it is only natural for the people to link the patriotic fervour to the sporting arena.
But complicating a sport in the name of political diplomacy is not justified and the same applies to the irrationality of letting a private sport event affect international ties.
The current war over a perceived 'IPL snub' to Pakistani players at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction is bound to intensify the tension between the neighbours with Pakistan threatening a 'befitting response'.
The issue reflecting up on the sorry state of bilateral ties should not cast a shadow over more pressing issues which need to be addressed.
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