India's legendary captain Kapil Dev advised the Suryakumar Yadav-led side to concentrate only on their performance in the upcoming high-voltage Group A clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025. The 1983 World Cup winner asked the Indian squad to just focus on "doing their job" amid the growing boycott calls.
Ever since the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) announced the schedule for the mega event, there have been growing demands from fans to not have any sporting relations with Pakistan in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.
As India defeated the UAE in their tournament opener, and the side will now face Pakistan in their second league clash, demands from the cricket fans continue to grow in India for the BCCI to pull the plug on the contest, keeping national sentiments in mind. However, recently, the BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia stated that India will play Pakistan because the board is just following the order issued by the Sports Ministry, where permission was granted for playing against Pakistan in multilateral events.
Kapil Dev urged the fans and commentators not to go overboard. He stated that policy decisions should be left to the government, and players should just focus on going about their tasks on the field.
"The Indian players should stay focused solely on the game. They have a good team and must win," Kapil told reporters, according to news agency PTI.
"Players should concentrate only on their performance and not get distracted by anything else. Just go and win. The government will do its job, and the players should do theirs," the 66-year-old added.
India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 clash will take place on September 14 at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. This will be India's first cricketing outing against Pakistan after the Pahalgham terror attack. India last time faced Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final where Virat Kohli's unbeaten ton powered India to a one-sided win against the neighbouring nation.