a former UN Under-Secretary-General and man of letters is a passionate outsider, whose comprehensive, entertaining and hard-hitting analysis of seventy-five years of cricketing history displays a Nehruvian commitment to secular values, which rejects sectarianism in sport in either country.
Shaharyar Khan, a former Pakistan Foreign Secretary, is very much the insider, who writes compellingly of his pivotal role as team manager and then Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board at a time when cricket was at the forefront of détente between the two countries.
In their essays, the two authors trace the growing popularization of cricket from the days of the Bombay Pentangular to the Indian Premier League. They show how politics and cricket became intertwined and assess the impact it has had on the game. But above all the book is a celebration of the talent of the many great cricketers who have captivated audiences on both sides of the border. If politics and terrorism can at times stop play, cricket is also a force for peace and healthy competition.