In the wake of the deadly terror attack in Pulwama, there were calls of boycotting Pakistan completely on the cricket pitch. Several cricket associations across the country and the BCCI showed their protest against the ghastly attack by taking down pictures and memorabilia of former Pakistan players from stadiums and headquarters.
Several former and current Indian cricketers, including the likes of Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Azharuddin and Sourav Ganguly had called for the boycott of Pakistan at the upcoming 2019 Cricket World Cup. Gautam Gambhir, another former Indian cricketer added his name to this list, when he voiced his opinion of boycotting Pakistan across all ICC tournaments.
The arch-rivals, last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India for three-match ODI series and a two-match T20I series. Since then, India has faced Pakistan only in ICC tournaments, like the World Cup, Asia Cup and the Champions Trophy. However, Gambhir feels that India should stop playing Pakistan across all tournaments, which includes forfeiting 2 points at the World Cup.
Gambhir also urged the fellow countrymen to support the men in blue, if they fail to make it to the knock-out stages in this process, as it comes at the cost of 2 crucial points.
“We should also boycott the Asia cup so we don’t play Pakistan. No problem in forfeiting 2 points India-Pak match but the entire country should then stand behind the team and not blame them for not making it to the semis or finals,” Gambhir said while giving an interview to times now.
Gambhir, who has also shown his love for the armed forces, slammed those who play politics over the martyrdom of the soldiers, saying that opinions of such people should not be considered.”That certain section who say a sport is over politics need not be considered. Nothing is bigger than the loves of the soldiers for me. We can’t put conditional bans on Pakistan, we should stop everything,” added Gambhir.
Gambhir was one of the few sportspersons to come out in the open to support the families of Pulwama martyrs through his foundation and has taken the responsibility of educating the children of the affected families.
With political tensions escalating over the past one month, dark clouds of uncertainty are looming over the World Cup tie between the two nations which is scheduled to be held at the Old Trafford, Manchester on the 16th of June.
The two teams last met in the Asia Cup 2018, where Rohit Sharma & Co defeated Pakistan twice before lifting the trophy by defeating Bangladesh in the final.
Earlier, BCCI had written a letter to ICC asking for a ban on countries supporting and sponsoring terrorism, indirectly pointing towards Pakistan. However, this plea was turned down by the ICC saying it was not in their hands and it cannot ask a member nation to sever ties with a particular country.
