The India-Pakistan cricket match held on September 14 in Dubai should have been an ordinary sporting fixture, as one game inside an international tournament. Far from an example of “cricket diplomacy” – a symbolic act of regional engagement – it became another moment of confrontation that only deepened mistrust. The political cost of engagement with Pakistan has grown so heavy that even symbolic gestures are cast as betrayals. Indian political parties, above all, face the responsibility of not turning every point of contact into a battlefield for domestic politics. Senior Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials skipped the match entirely, despite having no need to court voters.