Cricket, critics, and the curious case of Pakistan’s generosity

Pakistanis shower Vikrant Gupta with love, but is it hospitality or a deep-seated need for external validation?

In a rather tedious turn of events in the past few days, the Pakistan Cricket team is out of the Champions Trophy tournament sooner than a Pakistani opener after hitting one boundary. Needless to say, the anticipation for the country to show off their hosting spirits at the return of an international tournament after 30 years lasted much longer.

However, the bitter aftertaste of cricket as a fleeting escape from the country's prevailing misery lingers.

Now we must be on the look out for its strange manifestation, ranging from pretentious ignorance curtailing inner turmoil and fiery reception of Indian journalist Vikrant Gupta in a country he continues to dismiss.

Don’t get me wrong, I find it wholesome to see the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed people of Lahore cheering for Gupta, who arrived in Pakistan on February 26, just two days after the country’s crushing defeat to India.

A defeat, mind you, that happened in Dubai – after the BCCI cited security concerns to justify pulling out of playing in Pakistan.

In retrospect though, it was probably for the best.

In months leading up to the tournament, Gupta peddled the same narrative across his digital platforms, even spreading rumors as far back as October that the ICC was considering relocating the Champions Trophy from Pakistan to Dubai, Sri Lanka, or South Africa.

His overt reiteration of the stance to blame the “cross-border terrorism” between Pakistan and India extended all through his coverage of the tournament, reinforcing doubts about Pakistan’s ability as hosts and feeding into the broader geopolitical tensions surrounding cricket in the region.

However, in just three days since his arrival in Pakistan, the sports critic has been met with celebratory chants from the locals of Lahore, secured a prime-time slot on a comedy talk show, and enjoyed shakarkandis (sweet potatoes) on the very streets he once deemed ‘unsafe.’

Even more so, Gupta has appeared to cloak his stance of security threat in Pakistan by shifting the blame on sour history between the two countries.

The revered treatment of such cross-border public figures is not unprecedented. A video of spectators in Islamabad celebrating Virat Kohli’s winning century against the Pakistani team during a local screening on the street recently went viral, and needless to say, I was thoroughly unsettled by the cringe.

Because these celebrated athletes are the prime reason the tournament was stripped of its full significance as Pakistan’s long-awaited return as a major host.

If we go back a little farther, a similar scene unfolded during Javed Akhtar’s visit to Pakistan in 2023.

Despite his openly critical remarks about Pakistan at a literary festival in Lahore, he was met with overwhelming admiration, poetic tributes, and a hero’s welcome.

The irony was hard to miss – while he took the stage to denounce Pakistan, his audience hung on to his every word, applauding a guest who had no qualms about reinforcing divisive narratives.

Meanwhile, the persistent idealization of Bollywood stars, regardless of their anti-Muslim rhetoric, reinforces the deep-seated cultural amnesia that prioritizes celebrity worship over self-respect.

This strange rite of passage really does make one wonder: What is it about the validation from unapologetic critics of our ideologies that appeases us so much?

Is it self-sabotage, desperation for approval, or an enduring hope that warmth can thaw hostility?

As much as Pakistanis take pride in our hospitality culture, the videos churning out of Gupta’s fan meets in Lahore leave a sour taste in mouth. Because despite our optimistic assumptions, he has never shied away from an opportunity to degrade our team, pulling out all stops to justify the Indian team for choosing to opt out of traveling to Pakistan.

The counterpart of Gupta wouldn’t be extended the same warmth in India. We saw it in 2023 Cricket World Cup, when Zainab Abbas was practically bullied out of the country following backlash over alleged old anti-Hindu social media posts.

I neither seek nor expect the same treatment for Gupta in Pakistan; however, his warm reception here offers a stark contrast to the bigotry in the neighbouring country, where hostility often overshadows any notion of sportsmanship or goodwill.

We have long bend over backwards to win over others by our gracious, often extravagant displays of hospitality. However, this benevolent attitude of Pakistanis feed into the theory of post-colonial hangover, where seeking validation from more powerful forces comes like a second nature.

In the context of India, the subconscious desire to be acknowledged by those perceived more influential often comes off desperate and self-deprecating. In an attempt to be simpler, these gestures could also be translated to us overcompensating for negative stereotypes associated with the country.

While Vikrant Gupta enjoys a hero’s welcome, it’s worth asking – do all voices in Pakistan receive the same level of warmth?

Loving someone else’s star is obviously easier; there is nothing to lose there. But owning your own clan, regardless of their shortcomings takes a different kind of courage that we as a nation severely lack.

In fact, even our hospitality is selectively reserved for outsiders, as evident in the treatment of fellow countrymen of different faiths, who continue to face systemic discrimination and violence.

The treatment of Hindus, Christians, and other marginalized groups expose the deep cracks in our image of tolerance – cracks we desperately try to mend with the fragile glue of performative inclusivity and selective generosity.

This is not a hate piece. Nor is it written to drive people away from enjoying the cricket season.

However, at the end of the day, these stars are mere caricatures of public admiration and while it is not a crime to celebrate artists from across the border and beyond, it is important to recognize the gaps in our self-esteem when it comes to extending unwarranted adulation to those who wouldn’t waste a breath to shun the ‘enemy country’ such as ours to score points within theirs.