1745561878395Cricket Caught in the Crossfire: India-Pakistan Geopolitics After Pahalgam

 

While the nation as a whole grieves over lives lost because of the ghastly attack, India has already begun distancing itself from any relationship with Pakistan.

On 22nd April 2025, a terrorist attack at Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in the Anantnag district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir killed at least 26 tourists and injured more than 20 others.

Following this event, Indian streaming platform FanCode and Sony Sports India have suspended coverage of the ongoing Pakistan Super League after the massacre. FanCode, the official partner, has removed the league’s entire section from its app and website.

 

FanCode Removes PSL; Sony Follows

 

Even a day after the attack in Pahalgam, where terrorists armed with guns killed 26 Indian tourists, FanCode chose not to broadcast the April 23 match between Islamabad United and Multan Sultans. Additionally, the platform proceeded to entirely remove PSL content from its carousel.

Sony Sports, which holds India's TV rights for the PSL, promptly followed suit, blacking out all planned broadcasts and accompanying studio shows.

To date, neither Sony Sports nor FanCode has made a formal statement justifying the decision or providing information on when, if at all, coverage will resume.


Lashkar Links in Pahalgam Attack

 

The attack on Pahalgam, executed at the popular hill-station resort, awakened fresh memories of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2019 Pulwama bombing. It was subsequently established that the attackers were members of the Resistance Front, a breakaway group from the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, further escalating anger in the public.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has yet to comment on the development, but the move is already causing ripples in the sports and political circles, with fans overwhelmingly concurring on social media.

The PSL, Pakistan's T20 league, has traditionally had an ambivalent relationship with Indian viewers because of diplomatic tensions between the two nations.

This is another chapter in the confluence of geopolitics and sport, where the two are typically in the middle of the battle of greater national concerns.

 

Conclusion

 

The geopolitical concerns are the long-standing animosity and hostilities between India and Pakistan, driven by the Kashmir dispute and terrorism across borders. The Pahalgam attack, attributed to a Pakistan-based organization, sparked outrage among the public in India.

FanCode and Sony Sports, joining national opinion and probably apprehensive of backlash, suspended PSL broadcasts to avoid any perceived connection with Pakistan in the wake of the tragedy.