It was manna from the heaven and the phenomenal success that IPL has achieved has given credence to the age old held belief that sports does much to the cause of diplomacy than any other measure.      

Cricket as a matter of fact has been used as a toll of diplomacy to thaw the strained relations in the past by India. Remember the One-day series matches that took place between India and Pakistan when their relationship was in a serious mess.

It had generated a huge response and quite a lot of frayed nerves were soothed. Such a sense of anticipation had built up about the matches between India and Pakistan that most of us had forgotten that these matches were being played in a neutral country. The passion for the game among the fans had been the catalytic factor and the same has come out in stark motif in South Africa as well. During the course of chit chats with the fans in between the breaks, the fans in South Africa have exulted with joy at advent of 20-20 in South Africa and have been profusely thankful to the Indian authorities for providing them an opportunity to see such a congregation of big players on their soil.

While the Indian Government may have forced the authorities of the IPL to organize the matches in South Africa the Indian High Commissioner in South Africa  Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, is of the view that the IPL has done quite a lot for the Indian diplomacy in South Africa.

The positive imprint that IPL has left in South Africa has created really good vibes for India feels the High Commissioner. For Bhatia, organization of IPL matches in South Africa is like a meal for the Indian Expatriate Community where they all love to go. In fact the cause of diplomacy has also been served by the initiative of the IPL to distribute cheque for different schools in South Africa out of the budgetary provision of IPL. The Indians are particularly thronging to the grounds as on display on the ground is a new confident Indian youth who does not have fear as a word in its lexicon. For South Africa, the advent of IPL has provided a much needed fillip to the economy in the times of recession, and hence it has furthered the cause of diplomacy between the two countries.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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