'Move early, play late': Jaishankar’s cricket analogy to decode India's foreign policy draws applause (WATCH)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday attended the book launch event of former Indian cricketer Mohinder Amarnath, where he drew intriguing parallels between cricket and Indian foreign policy.
FollowExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday attended the book launch event of former Indian cricketer Mohinder Amarnath, where he drew intriguing parallels between cricket and India's evolving foreign policy. Jaishankar spotlighted the shift in India’s stance towards Pakistan, describing it as a transition from a defensive approach to a more assertive and proactive policy.
“You said you played them better because from the traditional side-on position, you now move to an open-chested position. I couldn’t have found a better description for a Pakistan policy that time,” Jaishankar remarked, referencing Amarnath’s strategic cricketing insights to encapsulate India’s diplomatic pivot.
Jaishankar highlighted profound lessons from Amarnath's book that resonate with the dynamics of India’s foreign policy. "The first takeaway is that the world is intensely competitive, but respect is earned. So the same Clive Lloyd in 1976, who did not spare any of you from body line bowling, was also the fielding captain who was generous enough to declare that pitch unfit in 1983. And that, in many ways, was respect earned," he stated.
Delving deeper into cricket's transformative moments, Jaishankar hailed 1983 as a watershed year—not just for cricket, but for India’s global standing. “I think nobody has any doubt that 1983 was the inflection point. It was not just the inflection point, but the man of the match of the inflection point. Pakistan won it at one point and Sri Lanka won it at one point. But nowhere else was it as big an inflection point as it was in the history of cricket. Because, if you look at India’s role in world cricket after 1983, it fundamentally changed,” he explained.
Mohinder Amarnath’s illustrious career spans from 1969 to 1989, during which he scored 4,378 runs in Test cricket. His extraordinary performance in the 1983 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Match in both the semifinal and final, cemented his legacy. Recognized as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 1984, Amarnath also received the prestigious Arjuna Award in the same year.
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