Asia Cup 2025 is set to begin on September 9 in the UAE, with Afghanistan facing Hong Kong in the opening clash. This edition of the Asia Cup is already drawing controversy as India is scheduled to play Pakistan for the first time since the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year. There had been rumors that the tournament could be cancelled due to escalating tensions between the two nations, but the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) confirmed that the tournament will proceed, with both India and Pakistan in the same group.

Former Players Call for India to Skip Pakistan Match

Several ex-cricketers have voiced their opinion that India should avoid playing Pakistan to honor the sacrifices of soldiers and civilians affected by border conflicts. Former India batter Kedar Jadhav strongly expressed that the match should be cancelled.

“𝑰 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚π’ π’•π’†π’‚π’Ž 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’‘π’π’‚π’š 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑨𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚ π’Šπ’” 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅, π’Šπ’• π’˜π’Šπ’π’ π’‚π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’” π’˜π’Šπ’ π’˜π’‰π’†π’“π’†π’—π’†π’“ π’Šπ’• π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’”, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’… 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑱𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒗 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’Žπ’†π’…π’Šπ’‚.

He further emphasized his stance with strong words:

“𝒀𝒆 π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ π’ƒπ’Šπ’π’Œπ’–π’ π’π’‚π’‰π’Š π’Œπ’‰π’†π’π’π’‚ π’„π’‰π’‚π’‰π’Šπ’šπ’†, 𝒂𝒖𝒓 π’Œπ’‰π’†π’π’†π’π’ˆπ’† π’ƒπ’‰π’Š π’π’‚π’‰π’Š, π’šπ’† π’Žπ’‚π’Šπ’ 𝒅𝒂𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’Œπ’† 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 π’Œπ’†π’‰ π’”π’‚π’Œπ’•π’‚ 𝒉𝒖𝒏. (π‘»π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰ 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’†π’… 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚ π’˜π’π’’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 π’‘π’π’‚π’š π’Šπ’•. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 π’ˆπ’–π’‚π’“π’‚π’π’•π’†π’† π’•π’‰π’Šπ’”).”

The India-Pakistan clash is scheduled for September 14 in Dubai, adding fuel to an already tense atmosphere surrounding the tournament.

Harbhajan Singh Shares Supportive View

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also weighed in, stating that playing against Pakistan would disrespect the sacrifices of soldiers.

“π‘»π’‰π’†π’š 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• π’Šπ’” π’Šπ’Žπ’‘π’π’“π’•π’‚π’π’• 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• π’Šπ’” 𝒏𝒐𝒕. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 π’Žπ’†, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’π’π’…π’Šπ’†π’“ π’˜π’‰π’ 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓, π’˜π’‰π’π’”π’† π’‡π’‚π’Žπ’Šπ’π’š 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 π’ˆπ’†π’• 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 π’‰π’Šπ’Ž, π’˜π’‰π’ π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’” π’”π’‚π’„π’“π’Šπ’‡π’Šπ’„π’†π’” π’‰π’Šπ’” π’π’Šπ’‡π’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 π’‰π’π’Žπ’† – π’•π’‰π’†π’Šπ’“ π’”π’‚π’„π’“π’Šπ’‡π’Šπ’„π’† π’Šπ’” 𝒔𝒐 π’Šπ’Žπ’Žπ’†π’π’”π’†. π‘ͺπ’π’Žπ’‘π’‚π’“π’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, π’˜π’† 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 π’”π’Œπ’Šπ’‘ π’‘π’π’‚π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒐𝒏𝒆 π’„π’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• π’Žπ’‚π’•π’„π’‰. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 π’—π’†π’“π’š π’”π’Žπ’‚π’π’ π’Žπ’‚π’•π’•π’†π’“,” 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒉𝒂𝒋𝒂𝒏 π’”π’‚π’Šπ’… π’…π’–π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒏 π’Šπ’π’•π’†π’“π’—π’Šπ’†π’˜ π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ π‘»π’Šπ’Žπ’†π’” 𝒐𝒇 π‘°π’π’…π’Šπ’‚.

He added that the national interest should always take precedence over sports:

“𝑲𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓 π’‘π’‚π’‚π’π’Š π’†π’Œ 𝒔𝒂𝒂𝒕𝒉 π’π’‚π’‰π’Š 𝒃𝒆𝒉 π’”π’‚π’Œπ’•π’†. (𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’˜π’†π’‚π’• 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒐-π’†π’™π’Šπ’”π’•). π‘ͺπ’“π’Šπ’„π’Œπ’†π’• π’Šπ’” 𝒂 π’—π’†π’“π’š π’”π’Žπ’‚π’π’ π’Žπ’‚π’•π’•π’†π’“ π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’‚π’“π’†π’… 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’•π’†π’π’”π’Šπ’π’π’”, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’‚π’•π’Šπ’π’ π’‚π’π’˜π’‚π’šπ’” π’„π’π’Žπ’†π’” π’‡π’Šπ’“π’”π’•.”

The comments by former stars have sparked debates across social media and among cricket fans, raising questions about whether politics and sports can truly coexist in such high-stakes situations.

Asia Cup 2025: Tension Meets Cricket

With tensions high and strong opinions emerging from former players, the Asia Cup 2025 is shaping up to be a tournament filled not only with cricketing action but also political sensitivity. The India-Pakistan match, in particular, has become the focal point of discussions and controversies even before the first ball is bowled.

Also Read: India’s Asia Cup 2025 Squad Announcement Live Updates: Shubman Gill at the Center of Selection Drama

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here