This piece is penned from disgust, utter loathe, sadness, despair and anger for brazen impunity. There are times in a nation’s journey when playing a game is no longer just about sport. When every run, every cheer, and every broadcast carries the weight of history, of pain, of lives lost. And yet, here we are again—on the brink of another India vs Pakistan cricket match. Scheduled, promoted, commercialized, and justified under the tired excuse of “it’s just a tournament.” But it’s not just a tournament. It never was.
This isn’t merely a contest between bat and ball. This is a broadcast of selective amnesia.
Dear BCCI, you are the custodians of Indian cricket, a body that commands not just respect, but responsibility. However, is money more important over motherland? Cricket over fallen soldiers and murdered civilians? You claim that the government permits participation in multi-nation events, that rules and frameworks guide your decisions. But since when did rules replace resolve? Since when did guidelines trump gut? You hide behind technicalities, invoking the fear of ICC sanctions and lost careers. But where is your moral clarity? Where is your understanding that sometimes, not playing is the most powerful statement you can make?
While our soldiers stand guard under threat, families mourn their martyrs, while terror camps across the border continue their operations unchecked—you have chosen to pad up. To take the field. To pretend that the enemy is just another opponent. You’re not protecting the sport; you’re sanitizing a reality that doesn’t deserve to be forgotten.
And then there’s Sony TV—India’s broadcasting powerhouse, the proud bearer of the campaign #RagRagMeinBharat. What does that even mean if, in the same breath, you glamorize a contest against the very country that bleeds us from within? You roll out panels of legends, expert analyses, and prime-time slots, all to package trauma as entertainment. Do you think a fresh coat of graphics and multi-language coverage makes this match neutral? Do you believe patriotism can be sold in HD?
No, you are not just airing a game—you are profiting off a paradox. One where patriotism is pitched against profit, and profit wins every time.
This is not a call for war. This is not hate. This is a call for dignity. For remembering that sportsmanship is not just about shaking hands after a match, but about knowing when not to play at all. Because there are some things more important than the game—national memory, the blood of our jawans, and the spine to say no when it counts.
We have watched too many flag-draped coffins. Heard too many eulogies delivered through trembling voices. Seen too many promises of “never forget” thrown aside when the camera starts rolling and the ad money flows in. So now we ask, with pain and pride: Why are we playing? Why are you airing this?
To every Indian planning to watch: remember, your viewership is a vote. You may think it’s just a match, but in your silence, in your applause, in your indifference, you become part of the problem. This isn’t about cricket. It’s about conscience.
BCCI, you had a choice. Sony TV, you had a platform. You both chose commerce over country. You may fill stadiums. You may win ratings. But you have lost something far greater.
Jai Hind.
