Former international cricketer Kedar Jadhav has spoken out in support of India’s decision not to face Pakistan in the next Asia Cup 2025. In the forthcoming continental event, which will take place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 14, the bitter rivals will square off. But according to Jadhav, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ought to abstain from the highly anticipated match.
The 40-year-old thinks that the Men in Blue can defeat Pakistan anyplace in the world, but he also thinks that India’s current dominance in international cricket would not change if they didn’t play a match. Following the recent terrorist strikes in Pahalgam, which were followed by the Indian government’s successful Operation Sindoor, Jadhav made these remarks.
“I think the Indian team shouldn’t play against Pakistan. As far as India is concerned, they will win anywhere against Pakistan. But I can guarantee that this match won’t be played. The Operation Sindoor was a massive hit. The reply was instant. The new, progressive India has shown that we can destroy enemies within their own territory,” Kedar Jadhav was quoted as saying by Cricket 365.
Harbhajan Singh says IND vs PAK rivalry is insignificant compared to a soldier’s life
In the same vein, great India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh had a similar sentiment. From Harbhajan’s perspective, a cricket match between India and Pakistan is not nearly as important to the nation as the warriors who risk their lives to defend it. For the sake of national interest, he believes that missing one Asia Cup match is not a big deal.
“They need to understand what is important and what is not. This is as simple as that. For me, the soldier who stands on the border, whose family often doesn’t get to see him, who sometimes sacrifices his life and never returns home — their sacrifice is so immense for all of us [Indians]. Compared to that, this [India vs Pakistan] is a very small thing — that we can’t even skip playing one cricket match. It’s a very small matter,” Harbhajan told TOI in an interview.
It would be interesting to watch if the match takes place or not, as the BCCI was forced to skip the match against Pakistan due to a lot of outside noise.
