Remember Sohail Tanvir's match-winning performance in the Indian Premier League's (IPL) nail-biting final of 2008?
Not only did the skiddy seamer scalp 6 wickets for a measly 14 runs, he also hit the winning runs on the last ball of the innings to see Rajasthan Royals home.
But with the door being firmly shut on Pakistani cricketers after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike later in the same year, players from the neighbouring country were denied the stage to turn on the magic in subsequent IPLs.
Now, the government appears to be playing a whole new ball game by rolling out the red carpet for star Pakistani dragflickers and tackling wizards and giving them permission to play in the ongoing World Series Hockey (WSH).
However, as far as its official stand on the matter of adopting different sets of standards for different sports is concerned, the government says it has no role in the matter.
'We have nothing to do with it. If the Pakistani players (cricketers) apply for a visa, the applications will be processed on merit,' a home ministry source said.
Rajeev Shukla, chairman of IPL governing council, also said the government hadn't barred Pakistani cricketers from the Twenty20 league. 'It's the franchises who have decided not to take them,' Shukla said.
It may have transpired that IPL franchise owners probably closed ranks after a nudge from the government following the 26/11 terror attack.
While cricketers such as Shoaib Akhtar, Salman Butt, Md Asif and Shahid Afridi played in the first IPL, ironically the only Pakistani expected to be seen in action in the upcoming IPL-5 is Azhar Mahmood, who is now a British national.
On the other hand, the likes of Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Adnan Maqsood and Zeeshan Ashraf will play hockey at various Indian venues. In fact, the WSH organisers are banking on the presence of the Pakistani stars to raise the profile of their league, which is not sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Attempts at a bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan have been discussed often but owing to the political climate, nothing is finalised. The last time the two countries played each other was in the ICC World Cup semi-final in Mohali in 2011.
The debate in sporting circles is if Pakistani players can play in a hockey league in India, why can't cricketers come? If security is a concern, do hockey players also not come in the same category?
'Pakistani players love to play in India. The language, food and environment are the same. All sportspersons, including cricketers, would relish playing in these conditions,' Abbasi said.
'Pakistani players love the challenge to perform in front of Indian crowds and play in India-Pakistan matches is the ultimate test for both sets of players. I have never felt any inhibitions while playing in this country,' he added.
Butt said Pakistani players faced no issues in getting Indian visas. 'The Indian sports ministry took some time to send the clearance, but there were no hassles,' Butt said.
The veteran forward, who was part of the Pakistan team that won gold at the Guangzhou Asian Games, said cricketers should also be allowed to take part in the IPL.
'Sporting relations between the two countries should not suffer.' Tariq, a midfielder who represented Pakistan at the 2004 Olympics, echoed his views.
'This is the second time we have come to India in recent months. We have not faced any problem,' Tariq said. 'India and Pakistan share great relations in sport. Our cricketers, too, should be called. Why should they suffer? Bilateral sporting ties between the two countries should not be stopped,' he said.
For long, a proposed bilateral hockey series between the two nations is on the cards but has not got clearance. Aziz, who played the last bilateral hockey series between India and Pakistan in 2006, fondly recalls those times. 'It was one of the best moments of my career. I was the top goal scorer in the series.'
Former Pakistan cricket captain Zaheer Abbas welcomed India's decision to invite Pakistani hockey players to take part in the WSH, but said he had doubts about their association in the future.
'It's discrimination against cricketers (not allowing them to play in IPL). The organisers invited Pakistani cricketers in the first year of the IPL, but then they stopped them,' Abbas, whose wife hails from Kanpur, said.
'I fear that once the WSH becomes successful - and it is bound to be successful if it's designed along the lines of the IPL - they would also show the door to Pakistani hockey players.
Pakistani players should not be used by hockey organisers like cricketers were in the IPL,' he added.
Asked how this issue of discrimination could be resolved, Abbas said: 'Only the two governments can resolve it.
'We in Pakistan always hope that cricketers would be allowed to play in the IPL.' Nadira Khan, a sports lover from Lahore, said: 'While Indo-Pak sporting contests bring out the best in players of both countries, there is no doubt that the IPL will look better if Pakistani players are allowed to play in it.
'We in Pakistan are starved of cricket as it is and have to play abroad,' she said.
The sentiment was echoed by a Pakistan tennis coach from Islamabad who did not want to be named.
'We saw how when Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi played together; they were seen as great ambassadors of peace,' he said.
Indian government allows Pakistani players to come in for World Series Hockey but keeps cricketers away from IPL | Mail Online
Not only did the skiddy seamer scalp 6 wickets for a measly 14 runs, he also hit the winning runs on the last ball of the innings to see Rajasthan Royals home.
But with the door being firmly shut on Pakistani cricketers after the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike later in the same year, players from the neighbouring country were denied the stage to turn on the magic in subsequent IPLs.
Now, the government appears to be playing a whole new ball game by rolling out the red carpet for star Pakistani dragflickers and tackling wizards and giving them permission to play in the ongoing World Series Hockey (WSH).
However, as far as its official stand on the matter of adopting different sets of standards for different sports is concerned, the government says it has no role in the matter.
'We have nothing to do with it. If the Pakistani players (cricketers) apply for a visa, the applications will be processed on merit,' a home ministry source said.
Rajeev Shukla, chairman of IPL governing council, also said the government hadn't barred Pakistani cricketers from the Twenty20 league. 'It's the franchises who have decided not to take them,' Shukla said.
It may have transpired that IPL franchise owners probably closed ranks after a nudge from the government following the 26/11 terror attack.
While cricketers such as Shoaib Akhtar, Salman Butt, Md Asif and Shahid Afridi played in the first IPL, ironically the only Pakistani expected to be seen in action in the upcoming IPL-5 is Azhar Mahmood, who is now a British national.
On the other hand, the likes of Rehan Butt, Shakeel Abbasi, Adnan Maqsood and Zeeshan Ashraf will play hockey at various Indian venues. In fact, the WSH organisers are banking on the presence of the Pakistani stars to raise the profile of their league, which is not sanctioned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Attempts at a bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan have been discussed often but owing to the political climate, nothing is finalised. The last time the two countries played each other was in the ICC World Cup semi-final in Mohali in 2011.
The debate in sporting circles is if Pakistani players can play in a hockey league in India, why can't cricketers come? If security is a concern, do hockey players also not come in the same category?
'Pakistani players love to play in India. The language, food and environment are the same. All sportspersons, including cricketers, would relish playing in these conditions,' Abbasi said.
'Pakistani players love the challenge to perform in front of Indian crowds and play in India-Pakistan matches is the ultimate test for both sets of players. I have never felt any inhibitions while playing in this country,' he added.
Butt said Pakistani players faced no issues in getting Indian visas. 'The Indian sports ministry took some time to send the clearance, but there were no hassles,' Butt said.
The veteran forward, who was part of the Pakistan team that won gold at the Guangzhou Asian Games, said cricketers should also be allowed to take part in the IPL.
'Sporting relations between the two countries should not suffer.' Tariq, a midfielder who represented Pakistan at the 2004 Olympics, echoed his views.
'This is the second time we have come to India in recent months. We have not faced any problem,' Tariq said. 'India and Pakistan share great relations in sport. Our cricketers, too, should be called. Why should they suffer? Bilateral sporting ties between the two countries should not be stopped,' he said.
For long, a proposed bilateral hockey series between the two nations is on the cards but has not got clearance. Aziz, who played the last bilateral hockey series between India and Pakistan in 2006, fondly recalls those times. 'It was one of the best moments of my career. I was the top goal scorer in the series.'
Former Pakistan cricket captain Zaheer Abbas welcomed India's decision to invite Pakistani hockey players to take part in the WSH, but said he had doubts about their association in the future.
'It's discrimination against cricketers (not allowing them to play in IPL). The organisers invited Pakistani cricketers in the first year of the IPL, but then they stopped them,' Abbas, whose wife hails from Kanpur, said.
'I fear that once the WSH becomes successful - and it is bound to be successful if it's designed along the lines of the IPL - they would also show the door to Pakistani hockey players.
Pakistani players should not be used by hockey organisers like cricketers were in the IPL,' he added.
Asked how this issue of discrimination could be resolved, Abbas said: 'Only the two governments can resolve it.
'We in Pakistan always hope that cricketers would be allowed to play in the IPL.' Nadira Khan, a sports lover from Lahore, said: 'While Indo-Pak sporting contests bring out the best in players of both countries, there is no doubt that the IPL will look better if Pakistani players are allowed to play in it.
'We in Pakistan are starved of cricket as it is and have to play abroad,' she said.
The sentiment was echoed by a Pakistan tennis coach from Islamabad who did not want to be named.
'We saw how when Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi played together; they were seen as great ambassadors of peace,' he said.
Indian government allows Pakistani players to come in for World Series Hockey but keeps cricketers away from IPL | Mail Online
