The T20 World Cup has already got underway and expectedly the initial twists and turns were there in the contests held so far in keeping with the ‘unpredictability’ norm of this format. And yet for cricket-loving fans, officials and all who matter in this sport, the look out now is for what will unravel on this coming Sunday when the marquee clash between India and Pakistan is scheduled. Will this contest be held is the million-dollar question considering the way things have been turning out in the wake of Bangladesh’s exit and Pakistan’s stance on that!

Politics and Sports, it is often said, should never be mixed in any way but such is the current geo-political tensions perhaps that they are getting intertwined and the biggest victim, it must be said is the sport itself. In this instance cricket, easily the most popular sport in this part of the world. A hint of this came on the final day of the Asia Cup tournament held in the later part of last year in Dubai. India defeated Pakistan and what followed was chaos in place of a normal prize distribution function. All that is past now and just when everyone was looking forward to another phase of cricket excitement has come a fresh cloud of uncertainty or better still, a phase of disruption if one can say that. Hopefully that too will pass with the character of the main content on the field preceding everything else.

Talk of cricket and indeed T20 has been a revolution that has simply skyrocketed the image of the sport. Here is a format that demands everything from the players--big hitting skills, clever bowling and acrobatic fielding. In short, sharp thinking on the field is the need of the hour and plenty is what happens thereafter. Even on the opening day a sample of what uncertainty can be in this form of cricket came out boldly. Be it India or Pakistan, the two leading teams had a struggle in hand against opponents who could be considered babes, at least on paper, in this line up for this competition. In the end true India defeated USA and Pakistan got the better of Netherlands but not till the last run was taken was victory a certainty in what was a close finish for the two winners and that is saying much of the opponents. And we are very much in the early stages of the competition and that should promise much more.

This much is clear from the early phase of the World Cup or the gradual exposure of the less known teams that no side can be straight away listed as a favourite. Indeed, who would have ever thought that two-time winners West Indies could become an also-ran, after the way the team once ruled the world in both Tests and limited-overs cricket? But to say that West Indies is now doing its best to catch up is virtually telling the truth. If there is a ring around India, the defending champion, it is only because T20 cricket has spawned amazing talent in the country. Even as this World Cup was getting ready to roll there was another World Cup that was ending, the U-19 event where India trumped England with a 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi showing the cricket world his amazing batting talent. His record 175 in 80 balls with 15 hits to the fence and another 15 over simply must be a classic in this version of cricket. An amazing one so young could wield the bat in such a brutal way and there is more to be seen from him in the IPL ahead. But for all this the sad fact is that he cannot play the senior level yet, as per ICC rules! Imagine what happens once he gets ready to step in, in the seasons ahead!

For sure this World cup too will come up with several new names to be included in the celebrity list with performances matching the occasion. Showing the way was India’s skipper Suryakumar Yadav who in his own style and intent, came up with a matching winning knock to perfection that helped India’s cause against USA. There will be keen interest on the performances of players from say Namibia, Nepal, Scotland, Oman and UAE among others and not to forget debutant Italy. Each team had come with merit to this exclusive group for this edition and surely would be only eager to present their credentials in the most telling way. Nepal for instance, ever eager to be recognised as a Test nation, genuinely looks back with pride its 2-1 win over West indies in recent times, a result that had pushed up the ratings for cricket in this country. A sample of Nepal’s capability came against England with the latter just about scraping through!

Add to all this the fare that the established teams like Australia, England, New Zealand and perhaps Sri Lanka will bring in. These are teams that have been through the best and worst times in such high- pressure competitions to know the value of resilience amidst tight-corner situations. Much of everything will unfold in the knock-out phase. Hopefully by then all the tangles and worries would have been resolved and focus would be on what happens on the field. Hopefully, yes!