Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has criticized Indian cricketers for their inconsistent approach toward playing against Pakistan. Kaneria pointed out the contradiction of Indian players skipping the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 match against Pakistan, citing political tensions, while now preparing to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025.
The controversy erupted after prominent Indian veterans like Harbhajan Singh and Shikhar Dhawan opted out of the WCL clash against the Pakistan Champions on July 20, reportedly due to the backlash they faced on social media following India’s military operation “Operation Sindoor.”
However, Kaneria found it hypocritical that these same players are now willing to participate in matches against Pakistan in the Asia Cup, which could see the arch-rivals face each other up to three times, including in the Super Four stage and potentially the final on September 28.
Kaneria: “Stop Using Patriotism When It Suits You”
Danish Kaneria didn’t mince words, taking to social media to call out the apparent double standard.
“𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑾𝑪𝑳 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒚. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝑨𝒔𝒊𝒂 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒗𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆? 𝑰𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑾𝑪𝑳 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐,” 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑲𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂.
“Stop using patriotism when it suits you. Let sport be sport — not propaganda.”
Kaneria stressed that if the issue was genuinely political, the same sentiment should have applied to both tournaments.
Shreevats Goswami Suggests India Should Forfeit Asia Cup Clash
Former Indian domestic cricketer Shreevats Goswami took an even more radical stance, suggesting that India should withdraw from the Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan entirely. Goswami argued that India’s participation benefits other nations financially, and thus, they should consider stepping aside.
“𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 & 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚,” 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒎𝒊 𝒐𝒏 𝑿 (𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓).
“We don’t need to win the Asia Cup. The only reason India is participating is to support other nations economically. If India plays, it’ll make the nation angry. Ideally, this is what should & must happen.”
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