Mumbai: What’s an international cricket tournament without at least one ad about the India-Pakistan rivalry? The Mauka Mauka ad campaign that Star Sports ran for many years was a celebration of this competitive spirit.
The ads were emblematic of the fact that India vs Pakistan cricket matches are huge money-spinners and high-stakes games. But with politics overtaking sport in recent times, the latest ad campaign on YouTube by Star Sports comes across as a bit of a cash grab gone wrong.
The campaign is themed around ‘repeating history’—in terms of India having an overwhelming winning record against its neighbour—in the T20 World Cup that starts 7 February.
It features a lone Pakistan fan in a team jersey mocked by four Team India fans promising to ‘repeat history and defeat the neighbour’ in Hindi in what the video terms the ‘greatest rivalry’.
However, in the current politically charged environment, ads like these may inadvertently amplify the murmurs of India’s supposed “bullying” behaviour when it comes to cricket, and may not have been the best tone to take.
For context, much has changed in the past few years as political tensions between India and Pakistan (and now Bangladesh too) have spilled over into cricket.
Last year’s shenanigans at the Asia Cup in Dubai was proof that games between the two teams were increasingly less focused on cricket.
Last reported, Bangladesh has formally pulled out of the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns in India.
Soon after, the Pakistan Cricket Board refused to play India in the first match between the two teams on 15 February in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
ICC has warned Pakistan that boycotting matches may lead to penalties and sanctions against the country’s national team.