What Farhan’s ‘Gun’ Tells Us About Pakistan

Culture writer Mike Marqusee, a rare American who loved cricket and penned persuasively on the game, once described the intensity and passion that define Indo-Pak encounters, as “War Minus The Shooting.” It was the title of his book focused on the 1996 ODI World Cup. By the mid-90s, cross-border terrorism had taken deep roots, creating a trust deficit between the two South Asian neighbours. But the last war between the two countries had happened 25 years earlier in 1971. The title was more metaphorical.

On Sunday, however, the word “shooting” took on a more visual dimension in the context of Indo-Pak cricket. Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan celebrated his half-century aiming an imaginary gun at the spectators, mostly Indian expatriates.