Winning prediction today : The cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan has it died?

India will play the favourite neighbour in a 20-over match at the Asia Cup in exactly one day. The lack of public enthusiasm, which seems to be patiently anticipating the next Bollywood flop, is what’s rather unexpected.

The impending killing of the enduring enemy, however, was one issue that truly unified Indians, as most living generations will admit. On some level, it was a plausible substitute because gladiatorial settings might serve as video game-like recreations of the battlefield. Naturally, the losses were terrifyingly severe; perhaps most notably, Javed Miandad’s final delivery sixer in 1986 decimated our poise for a considerable amount of time.

This time, though, the box office looks to be fairly lukewarm, and with the holiday season just around the corner, many appear to be occupied elsewhere on Sunday night. Which, incidentally, is unquestionably a justifiable element given that, following the clear lull in play, folks are scurrying outside with abandon, and static TV time is unquestionably a punishing measure. Recent statistics on mall and dine-in traffic attest to the brazen disregard for the latest hazards posed by the ill-tempered virus.

I do mean the political plays that are playing out every day throughout the theatres of government when I say that there is far too much happening in India now in terms of sheer diversity. With galloping zeal, new age candidates like scams, raids, defections, and debates seize our attention, and the OTT invasion is swiftly encroaching on citizens’ emotional landscapes. The abundance of “entertainment” in urban life, from both traditional and contemporary sources, is therefore evident and current.

This is where the IPL comes into play as the main accuser for the future decline of interest in cricket matches between India and Pakistan. First off, it has gathered an abundance of top-notch content, allowing fans now to watch more Cricket in a year than we could have imagined in a lifetime. And this is unquestionably cutting-edge technology, with India’s football leagues combining the Italian and Spanish leagues.

The culture of fervently and intensely supporting city teams (much like clubs) is the other slow-cooked but now ready-to-eat dietary adjustment. Indian cricket has started to exhibit customer behaviour that is quite reminiscent to football, and this is a significant departure. Before the IPL, no one was truly passionate about local or state teams unless they were actively involved, but now, with the matches mercifully occurring sparingly during the EPL, there is a strong relationship with the beloved franchise.

I must therefore assert that the passion quotient has drastically shifted from national agendas to club agendas, which has an impact on even the storied Indo-Pak blockbusters. The meaningless series of bilateral encounters, most notably between Zimbabwe and the West Indies, which are tediously one-sided and unwelcoming to viewers due to odd time zones, serve to further fuel this apathy. Another post-IPL twist is that even our best international rivals are now predominantly judged on the basis of their IPL connections, hence Glen Maxwell’s RCB outfit triumphs over the rapacious Baggy Greens. Yes, there will be significant interest in large competitive knockout matches, the World Cup, and other events; but, the IPL’s power will only be temporarily suspended.

The Indo-Pak conflict will soon be an embarrassing relic in this massively evolving cosmos, and quite frankly, successful India shouldn’t compete with unsuccessful Pakistan on any metric other than securing its political borders. The IPL should be credited for improving Consumable Cricket, and such dead rivalries still count as lovable collateral damage 75 years after independence.

Also read : No second round; the winner will be announced tomorrow.