Yashwant Sinha strikes note of caution on Indo-Pak ties

Just how close are India and Pakistan to playing each other in bilateral international cricket at the senior level? Not too close, if one goes by a statement yesterday from Yashwant Sinha, India's foreign minister. Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Sinha said that the time hadn't yet come for cricketing relations between the two countries to be fully restored.

"We will resume sporting ties on a bilateral basis only when the time is right," said Sinha. "Cricket will form part of the normalisation process."

When it comes to Pakistan, the Indian government has long linked cricket with politics. The recent thaw in relations at the political level led to resumption of cricketing ties being planned at the junior and A-team levels. India's sports ministry green-lighted the BCCI's request to send its junior team to Pakistan; meanwhile, Pakistan is organising a tournament in December with the A teams of the two countries, as well as Sri Lanka.

But Indo-Pak relations have since deteriorated, with talks of peace giving way to the political rhetoric that has been standard fare for the last few years. That does not augur well for cricket fans.