Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir expressed that India should ‘forfeit’ the World Cup final if they face Pakistan. He further added that the BCCI should take a stand against Pakistan regarding cricket. Either they break all ties with them or allow them at every level after seeing the Pulwama attacks. The veteran cricketer again suggeIndia should forfeit World Cup final if Against Pakistan, says Gautam Gambhirsted that the Indian board has to prepare for the consequences as ‘there can’t be conditional bans’.
“This (playing Pakistan in World Cup) is what BCCI needs to decide and I have always maintained there can’t be conditional bans,” said Gautam Gambhir during an event in Delhi. “Either you don’t play them anywhere or open doors for them. What happened in Pulwama is absolutely not acceptable. I am sure it’s going to be difficult to boycott Pakistan in World Cup but they are not playing them in bilaterals. The best they can do is to stop playing in Asia Cup as well, that’s what I believe.”
Read here: CoA in “No Hurry” to decide the contracts of coaching staff
However, the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) have written to International Cricket Council (ICC) and asked them to ‘isolate’ from other nations from where ‘terror emanates’. Their request showed a little progress at the last ICC meeting and the ball is now in the BCCI’s court and Gambhir thinks if the board boycott the game, they should receive unreserved support for that.
“England had decided not to travel to Zimbabwe in 2003 World Cup and gave those two points away,” he said. “So, if BCCI decides that India should not play Pakistan they should be mentally ready and country should be too. It can’t be conditional ban, there could be repercussions as well. No media should blame India for not qualifying to the semifinals. The entire media and country should back the team as well.”
While asking if both the teams face the final then what should be done, Gambhir expressed that if that happens, India should forfeit the final.
Also read: Rishabh Pant talks about MS Dhoni’s impact and his plans for IPL 2019
“Two points are not that important. The country is important, those 40 soldiers who lost their lives are far more important than a cricket match. If we let go of a World Cup final, the country should be ready for it. A certain section of society says that don’t mix sports with politics but Jawans are far more important than a game of cricket,” said Gambhir.
