The India-Pakistan Asia Cup match to be held on September 14 in Dubai is no less than a war for cricket fans. But this time the drama outside the field is making more headlines than the game on the field.
After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 tourists lost their lives, fans and some former cricketers are demanding a boycott of this match.
But BCCI has now broken its silence on this matter and has issued a big statement.
No Restrictions, We Have to Play!
BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia made it clear that as per the policy of the Government of India, India will have to play against every country in multinational tournaments, no matter how bad the relations are.
Saikia told ANI, “So far as the BCCI’s view is concerned, we have to follow whatever the central government formalises. Recently, our policy, which is in place, regarding India’s participation in any multinational tournament or international tournament, there is no restrictions imposed by the central government whether we play any of the countries which are not on good terms with India. So India have to play all the matches in any multinational tournament.”
He further said, “As the Asia Cup is a multinational tournament involving countries of the Asian continent, so we have to play. And also, for any ICC tournament, when there is a country which is not on friendly terms with India, we have to play in the international tournaments. So far as bilateral is concerned, we are not going to play with any of our hostile countries.”
Why can’t the match be cancelled?
Saikia said that if India refuses to play against Pakistan in a tournament like the Asia Cup, it could have serious consequences.
Bodies like the ICC or the Asian Cricket Council can impose sanctions on India, which can affect not only cricketers but also players of other sports like Neet Chopra.
Saikia said, “If India boycotts any of the multinational tournaments hosted by the Asian Cricket Council or the ICC, or if you take any other sports, suppose a FIFA tournament or an AFC tournament or any other, suppose, athletic tournament involving multinational teams, and India is not playing with a particular country, then there may be sanctions against the Indian Federation.”
What is the whole matter?
India and Pakistan have not been playing bilateral series since 2012, but have been facing each other in tournaments like Asia Cup and World Cup.
This time too, the group stage match will be held in Dubai on 14 September, and both the teams can clash up to three times in the tournament.
The BCCI says that it is just following the government’s policy, and fans will have to accept this ‘bittersweet’ decision.
