Can cricket fandom be conflated with patriotism?

The recent ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates once again showed us the glorious uncertainties of cricket. The sport’s twists were evident when title-favourite India got knocked out. Immediately, the knives were sharpened on social media. Worse had happened earlier following India’s loss to Pakistan. Some fans who had celebrated Pakistan’s triumph were arrested and despicable remarks were made about Indian speedster Mohammed Shami’s Muslim identity, which raised the question: can patriotism be conflated with the Indian men’s cricket team? Isn’t sport a medium that cuts across boundaries? Here we discuss these questions. Guest: R. Kaushik, a veteran sports writer, having reported more than 100 Tests and multiple World Cups. He also co-authored V.V.S. Laxman’s biography 281 and Beyond; W.V. Raman, a former Indian cricketer and acclaimed coach, who recently coached the Indian women’s team. He is also the author of The Winning Sixer Host: K.C. Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor, The Hindu You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected]