Of cricket and offshoring

Could a cricket match in India help safeguard the controversial practice of shipping tech work offshore?

News reports today said Pakistan's leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Manmohan Singh watched a cricket match between Indian and Pakistani teams as part of a cordial diplomatic summit.

Civility between the often-hostile nations means a lot to the computer world. Earlier this year, Indian police uncovered a terrorist plan to target technology companies in Bangalore. Several of India's top technology companies, including Infosys and Wipro, are based in Bangalore, and a large number of American companies have their engineering and development centers there.

The group linked to the alleged terrorist plot has been demanding separation of Kashmir from India.

Kashmir's status has long been a point of contention between India and Pakistan, and the recent summit apparently did not break new ground in the dispute. But a polite, face-to-face meeting of the countries' top leaders is a hopeful sign for long-term stability between the two nuclear powers. And stability is important for corporations thinking about sending work overseas.

Pakistan reportedly won the cricket match. But both countries--and their tech economies--may have been the real victors.