Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is “disappointed” that cricket has been facing the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack and said the high-profile India-Pakistan World Cup game should be taking place as scheduled despite calls for the match being boycotted from several quarters in India. The Pakistan skipper insisted that sports should never be mixed with politics and said in the interest of the cricket crazy fans of both the countries, the match should be played.
Recently during a chat with CricketPakistan.com.pk, Sarfraz said, “The India and Pakistan match should be played as per schedule as there are millions of people who want to watch this game. I just don’t think cricket should be targeted for political gains. It is disappointing to see cricket being targeted after the Pulwama incident. I don’t recall Pakistan ever mixing sports with politics.”
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The fate of the much-anticipated World Cup match to be held on June 16 at the Old Trafford seems to be in a dark as several former Indian cricketers called for its boycott in the aftermath of the terror attack that killed more than 40 CRPF personnel. The call to boycott the match has come from some veteran cricketers like off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and former captain Mohammed Azharuddin.
Talking about that Sarfraz said that sports should be taken as sports.
But offering a different view, legendary batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar have stated that India should not hand over points to Pakistan by boycotting the game. They, however, advocated continued shunning of bilateral cricket ties.
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Former Pakistan skipper, Javed Miandad also opined that the game shouldn’t be targeted. He said, “I felt bad after hearing about our pictures being removed from their (Indian) stadiums. Now this talk of boycotting the World Cup. I think India need to understand they can face consequences of such an action. I don’t understand the mindset. Do they really think they (India) can get away without playing the World Cup match?”
Miandad said India need to change its policy of mixing sports with politics.
