After the 2008 Mumbai bomb attacks, relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated sharply. Following this, both countries decided not to play cricket matches in each other’s territories. Subsequently, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Gilani to India to watch the India–Pakistan match during the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Gilani accepted the invitation, and the match was held in Mohali.
Mahinda Rajapaksa, then the President of Sri Lanka, expressed his keenness to witness the Sri Lanka–India cricket match that was to be played in Mumbai.
At that time, with tensions still high following the end of the war in Sri Lanka’s North, political parties in Tamil Nadu pressured the Indian central government not to invite Mahinda Rajapaksa to watch the match. During the Congress-led government, Tamil Nadu’s views carried considerable weight in shaping India–Sri Lanka foreign policy. As a result, India did not invite Mahinda Rajapaksa to attend the match.
Feeling embarrassed, Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to travel to India to watch the World Cup match by purchasing tickets. However, he was unable to obtain the number of tickets requested for his delegation. During the India–Pakistan match, arrangements had been made in advance for the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers to meet their respective national cricket teams. Although Mahinda Rajapaksa requested an opportunity to meet the Sri Lankan cricket team before the match began, permission was not granted.
Nevertheless, in order not to cause discomfort to Mahinda Rajapaksa, India arranged for the Indian President to sit with him to watch the match. Mahinda Rajapaksa also requested to come onto the field and pose for a photograph with the victorious Indian team, but as he had not attended on an official invitation, he was not granted that opportunity.
At that time, when India and Pakistan were engaging diplomatically, Sri Lanka stood alone. Today, when India and Pakistan are again at odds and Pakistan has decided to boycott a match, Sri Lanka intervened to persuade Pakistan to agree to play matches involving India and Pakistan in Sri Lanka. Pakistan’s decision to boycott the India–Pakistan match in Sri Lanka was criticised by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket, who pointed out that despite serious security threats caused by terrorist attacks in Pakistan, the Sri Lankan cricket team had played there, disregarding threats to their lives. It is a good sign that Pakistan eventually came to understand this position.
