A cricket romantic since his days as an asthmatic child confined to bed, Shashi Tharoor would deal with sickness-induced isolation by forming combined India-Pakistan fantasy teams that took the world in book cricket contests.

His stint in the UN and his present schedule as Minister of State for External Affairs haven’t distanced him from the game he got hooked onto after a day at Brabourne Stadium as a seven-year-old.

Tharoor, now 53, can still reel off statistics of old players like a cricket-obsessed teen. And he has a child-like glee in his eyes when he sees his boyhood idol Ajit Wadekar in the crowd at the launch of Shadow Across the Playing Field, a book on Indo-Pak cricket that he has co-authored with Shaharyar Khan.

Yet, his love affair with the game wouldn’t translate into backing a premature opening of cricket doors to the arch-rivals next door.

“We will be playing once again provided certain things happen in bilateral relationship. The issue is to create the right environment and it needs to be done. The Prime Minster has signalled very clearly that India is ready to do everything. What happened on 26/11 is not dealt effectively in Pakistan,” he said.

The launch, hosted by friends Mukesh and Nita Ambani, was at Hotel Taj’s Sea Lounge, which had recently been renovated after 26/11.

Tharoor used cricket metaphors to express his stance. This touched a chord with the star-studded gathering of present and past cricketers, film celebrities and politicians. When he said, “We are ready to come down the track, in case they step out of the crease,” there were several shakes of the head. And when, just before stepping down from the dais, he said India would deal with Pakistan as Sachin Tendulkar had negotiated bouncers from Wasim Akram on his debut tour, the audience gave a resounding round of applause.

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