Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of Team India, feels that all levels of India-Pakistan matches should end in the wake of the recent terrorist assault in Pahalgam. 26 people were killed in the vicious attack, which rocked India and strained ties with Pakistan even more.
Several well-known Pakistani athletes had their social media accounts disabled in India as a result of the aftermath. For more than ten years, the two bitter rivals have avoided playing one another in bilateral matches; instead, they only ever meet at ICC events and other international competitions.
At an ABP event, Gambhir discussed upcoming India-Pakistan matches, saying (via News18):
“My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (cross-border terrorism) doesn’t stop there should not be anything between India and Pakistan. Ultimately, this is the government’s call whether we play them or not. I have said this before also, no cricket match or Bollywood or any other interaction is more important than the life of Indian soldiers and Indian citizens.”
Gautam Gambhir
He added:
“Matches will keep happening, movies will be made, singers will continue to perform, but nothing comes close to losing a loved one in your family.”
Gautam Gambhir
The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan by six wickets in their most recent meeting, which took place in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
“For BCCI and more importantly the government to decide” – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir states that India-Pakistan matches in the T20 World Cup next year combined with the Asia Cup later this year will depend on what the BCCI and government decide. Despite playing its matches in India during the 2023 ODI World Cup Pakistan received no visits from India for both the 2023 Asia Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Instead, the Men in Blue participated in those two Pakistan-hosted tournaments in Sri Lanka and Dubai.
“This is not up to me, this is for BCCI and more importantly the government to decide whether we should play them or not (Upcoming Asia Cup and T20 World Cup). Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicise it,” said Gambhir (via aforementioned source).
Gautam Gambhir
As of right now, Indian and Pakistani players compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL), respectively.
