The Asian Cricket Council's statement about the prospect - alleged, it must be said - of India boycotting the World Cup and other ICC tournaments was as hasty and ill-advised as a flourish with a fire extinguisher at the first sign of an errant matchstick. "The ACC feels India must play a leadership role for the betterment of cricket in Asia and reports of India not playing major events like the World Cup and ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy are not realistic," said one of the organisation's secretaries, in a ludicrous knee-jerk response to idle speculation masquerading as news. At no stage has the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) even hinted at a boycott of the World Cup. The Indian authorities - both at the board and government level - have taken a pretty solid stance when it comes to playing Pakistan. They will not play a bilateral series, home or away. But when the teams have been part of a larger canvas - as in the Carlton and United series in Australia in 1999-2000, which came in the immediate aftermath of the Kargil conflict - the Indians have not gone AWOL.

The two teams haven't met since a one-off encounter at the Asia Cup in Dhaka (May-June, 2000) and that isn't going to change without a substantial improvement in political relations between the two countries.

Some may point to the fact that India and Pakistan have clashed in other sports - hockey and volleyball to name just two - and that cricket is being unfairly singled out. But that's being naïve in the extreme. The rivalry between the two countries when it comes to cricket is as fierce as any in sport - Boca Juniors-River Plate and Barcelona-Real Madrid included. Each match inflames the passions and makes the average bloke in the street behave like a unfriendly neighbourhood Le Pen. The recent riots in Gujarat have only heightened communal tensions in the subcontinent, not that they aren't always simmering anyway.

India pulled out of a tour of Pakistan in January 2001. While political brinkmanship played its part in the cancellation, there were understandable fears too about the players' safety. Those fears were borne out by the suicide bombing that sent the New Zealand team home ahead of time. When countries like New Zealand and Australia are reluctant to tour Pakistan, why should anyone expect India to? For a lunatic suicide bomber brainwashed by fundamentalist propaganda, the Indian cricket team would be the perfect soft target.

Boycotting the World Cup is something else altogether. Perhaps the ACC bigwigs would be so kind as to tell us why India would even contemplate such a step. To begin with, such a step could result in riots violent enough to bring down the government. In this corner of the world, you don't mess with someone's religious beliefs and for all intents and purposes, cricket is the nation's faith. The repercussions of a boycott would be severe and India would no doubt be banished like South Africa were during the Apartheid era. Most Indians would rather play Pakistan - even if that meant a loss - than face a future without international cricket.

The situation with Pakistan is tragic from a sporting standpoint, for fans and journalists alike. Sport can transcend politics, as a marvellous crowd at Chennai showed us in February 1999, giving the victorious Pakistanis a standing ovation.

Sadly, our politicians and rabble-rousers aren't quite so evolved and till there are, this great rivalry will just have to stay in the deep freeze. As for the ACC, maybe they should cross check facts with the BCCI before acting like trigger-happy winos.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd