Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh showed no mercy and strongly criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing the Indian team to take part in the Asia Cup 2025 which is set to commence this September. Notably, both India and Pakistan are present in the same group and are set to clash against each other on September 14.
Before the groups were announced, there were speculations that India would skip the tournament as a whole or will at least refuse to play against Pakistan. However, people were surprised when the official schedule was released, confirming the Men in Blue's participation, including the match against the Men in Green.
Harbhajan lashed out at BCCI
Harbhajan feels that the BCCI should understand that the tournament isn't as important as the soldiers who are fighting for the country at the border. He added that the two teams shouldn't be playing cricket matches against each other until the issues between their nations are fully resolved.
“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. Compared to that, this is a very small thing, that we can't skip playing one cricket match. It's a very small matter.” Harbhajan Singh said, as quoted by Times of India
"Our government has the same stance, 'Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakte.' (blood and sweat cannot co-exist). It cannot be the case that there’s fighting on the border, tensions between the two nations, and we go to play cricket. Until these big issues are resolved, cricket is a very small matter. The nation always comes first," he added.
The 45-year-old emphasized that no person is bigger than the nation and therefore, the country’s interests must always come first. While India and Pakistan haven't played a bilateral cricket series against each other since 2013, the terror attack in Pahalgam which took place earlier this year, has expanded demands for the former to completely cut sporting ties with the latter.
“Whatever our identity is, it’s because of this country. Whether you are a player, an actor, or anyone else, no one is bigger than the nation. The country comes first, and the duties we owe to it must be fulfilled. Cricket match na khelna bahut maamuli si cheez hai desh ke saamne (Not playing a cricket match is nothing compared to the importance of the nation),” Harbhajan stated.
“At the border, our brothers are standing, protecting us and our country. Look at their courage, the big hearts with which they serve. Think about what their families go through when they don’t return home. And here we are, playing cricket,” he further added.
Meanwhile, the Asia Cup is set to commence from September 9 and will go on till September 28. India will be beginning their campaign on September 10 with a clash against UAE. Following the match against Pakistan, their final group stage game will be against Oman on September 19.