Shadows Across The Playing Field
Shashi Tharoor and Shaharyar Khan
Shadows playing across the field tells the story of the turbulent cricket relations between India and Pakistan through the eyes of Shashi Tharoor and Shaharyar Khan, who bring to task not only great love of the game, but also deep knowledge of subcontinental politics and diplomacy. Together, they trace the popoularization of cricket from the days of the Bombay Pentagular to the Indian Premier League. This book celebrates the talents of many great cricketers who have captivated audiences on both sides of the border; cricket has served as a force of peace despite the intertwining of politics and cricket. Shashi Tharoor, a former UN Under-Secretary-General and man of letters, is a passionate outside, whose comprehensive, entertaining and hard-hitting analysis of sixty years of cricketing history displays a Nehruvian commitment to secular values, which rejects sectarianism in sport in either country. Shaharyar Khan, a former Pakistan Foregin 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 in the forefront of détente between the two countries.