Narendra Modi's Cricket Diplomacy With Pakistan Ahead of ICC World Cup 2015

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, called his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to wish him best before the all-important India vs Pakistan World Cup. Modi also tweeted his wishes to all SAARC nations participating in the tournament and call their respective political leaders. India and Pakistan are in Pool B of the World Cup which also has South Africa, West Indies, UAE and Afghanistan. The South Asian countries in Pool B include Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. (Fixtures | Teams | Players | Venues | History)

Cricket connects people in our region & promotes goodwill. Hope players from SAARC region play with passion & bring laurels to the region.

- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2015

Modi called Sharif and the two leaders are learnt to have shared cricket jokes. The Indian Prime Minister is learnt to have made a reference to the 1987 World Cup when Sharif, as a chief minister, had come onto the field to make his presence known. Ironically, Imran Khan - Sharif's main political rival now - was the captain of the team then.

Modi however, has always been an enthusiastic admirer of Indian cricket team too, and had wished MS Dhoni and his players in a series of tweets.

A contest between India and Pakistan has always been the most-awaited clash in any cricket tournament. That the tickets for the February 15 match was completely sold in 20 minutes goes to show the significance of the match. Both countries have a large diaspora base in Adelaide and are expecting jingoistic support. The Indian team has never lost to Pakistan in the World Cup but iffy form of both teams makes the contest hard to predict.