In cricket, the World Cup and Asia Cup tournaments exist only to give India and Pakistan a chance to play against each other. They do not meet in their home countries but matches between them are watched by many on television.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors have always affected cricketing ties between them. Since 2012, these teams have not played each other in any series.
But for Pakistan, its neighbor never misses an opportunity to say that India needs to remain a cricketing superpower. While India needs Pakistan to complete its success.
They are great rivals who represent a very important aspect of the game: two arch-rivals.
Winning and losing is a continuous process – sometimes one team is ahead and sometimes the other. Between the fear of losing and the euphoria of winning, it's easy to be critical.
But you can't deny the competition between teams that have some of the greatest players in the world.
India and Pakistan are said to be the same - the rivalry between countries divided by similar cultures, emotions, and passions is stoked in such a way that television commercials take off and politicians get jobs.
History, geography, economics, and psychology have all played a role in shaping India-Pakistan relations in different ways at different times.
Lahore High Court once sent a legal notice to former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi. He said that for this reason he is loved more in India.
67 students of a university in Meerut were suspended for shouting in favor of Afridi during an Asia Cup match in India. He was almost tried for treason.
Cricket should not carry the burden of unresolved relationships. But this is happening. It is often said that a game represents something other than itself. But India-Pakistan cricket has been given more importance than the status of a sports competition.
Victory or defeat cannot be seen as a reaction to a country's political system, literary heritage, crowned beauties, or the strength of their country's dams. But it is so.
Cricket administrators around the world know that India speaks slowly, but it has great economic power, so it is listened to.
Both countries have similar problems – over-reliance on batting, unstable middle order, and reliance on a few fast bowlers.