With every one-sided India-Pakistan clash invariably dominated by India, the commercial value of this once marquee showdown is going down at least on this side of the border, according to former players and observers of the game.India’s victory on Sunday has hit Pakistan harder than before as there were expectations that after the tough posturing by the country’s administrators during the recent deadlock with the ICC, the players too would fire on all cylinders on the field.The 61-run defeat was, however, a sobering reminder of the gulf that now exists. India has defeated Pakistan in eight out of nine matches in the T20 World Cup. This is in addition to the three straight defeats that Salman Ali Agha’s men endured at last year’s Asia Cup.India’s domination over Pakistan in white-ball cricket has been such that since the 2017 Champions Trophy final win, Pakistan has not won a single ODI against the arch foes.Former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Lt General (rtd) Tauqir Zia noted that with every loss, the much-hyped games are losing commercial value in the ICC.“The fact is Pakistan and India matches have become too one-sided. This time the hype built up because the PCB announced the boycott of the game against India then un-boycotted it. But sooner or later the Pakistan and India games will lose their value to the ICC and member boards,” he cautioned.Pervaz Mir, who runs an advertising agency here, agreed that fans on this side are losing hope for a revival of the once equal rivalry.“Now fans are also losing hope because no one wants to see one-sided encounters including sponsors, advertisers,” Mir said.He noted that the bulk of the revenues that the ICC and its broadcaster earn from India-Pakistan matches comes from the Indian consumer market. But even there, the mis-match has not gone unnoticed.“When the boycott decision was announced there were many Indians who said it doesn’t matter as the matches have already become too predictable.“The commercial value of these matches will diminish unless the matches become more close and competitive,” he said.Nadeem Mandviwalla, a film distributor and owner of a cineplex in Karachi, said that during the screening of the match most of the assembled made a beeline for the exit when Pakistan lost four early wickets.“The thing is even if we qualify for the semi-finals we are likely to come up against India again and we all know what the result will be and that hurts the most,” cricket writer and analyst, Omair Alavi noted.Stalwarts like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Ramiz Raja, and Aamir Sohail, who were part of the Pakistan teams that won a number of matches against India in the ‘80s and ‘90s, are now commentators.According to Shoaib and Saqlain it is a painful experience for them to watch the current Pakistan and India matches.“Where is that character and fire that we had when we played India? Yes, we lost some matches but everyone knew it was always going to be a tough match,” Shoaib said.Saqlain also recalled how whenever Pakistan played against India captain Wasim Akram and other senior players would push players to not give up.“I remember how we won that Test against India in Chennai in 1999. Sachin was (Tendulkar) batting and as India inched closer to victory, Wasim bhai kept on urging us that we just need Sachin’s wicket and we will win. Where is that spirit in this team?” he asked.