Exclusive: Should India Face Pakistan in the Asia Cup? Ex-Players Weigh In

India and Pakistan share a long history. The two neighbouring countries have been at odds for decades now. They share an intense rivalry on the field as well, and it’s still considered cricket’s biggest showdown. 

The two teams haven’t played a bilateral series since 2013, but they have often faced each other in multi-nation tournaments.

Recently, in the World Championship of Legends, a T20 tournament featuring retired players from various countries, India refused to share the field with Pakistan, first in the league stage and then again in the semi-finals. 

This has sparked fresh speculation that India might not play Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup either, where both sides are placed in the same group.

No to cricket against Pakistan

Before the WCL matches were officially cancelled, it was the Indian players who began pulling out. Several of them have publicly voiced their opposition to playing against Pakistan. We reached out to a few former Indian cricketers to get their views on the issue.

“Definitely not,” said Abhinav Mukund, when asked if India should participate in the Asia Cup.

“When we are fighting a war with the neighbours, I don’t think cricket has to be played between the two nations. This is just my personal view," he told Sportsboom.com.

Shreevats Goswami, another former Indian player, went a step further, saying India should never share the field with Pakistan.

“We should not play Pakistan ever,” he said firmly.

“There is no explanation. It’s simple. Not now, not ever. I don’t know how, but this is my opinion, we should not play them ever. It’s for the big bosses to decide the 'how'. Find a way. Maybe it’s time for the cricketers to take a stand. Put them in different groups, and if by chance they meet in the semis or finals, don’t play. The nation is bigger than any sport,” Shreevats told Sportsboom.com.

The other side

However, Atul Wassan, another former Indian cricketer, offered a contrasting view. He said India’s withdrawal from the World Championship of Legends let the organisers down.

“I was very disappointed. I felt sorry for the organisers. In spite of knowing it’s a six-nation tournament, not a bilateral, and that Pakistan would be part of it, the stand taken by a few players influenced others. Now the egg is on everyone’s face because, you know, first of all, they lost the games. They didn’t turn up for Pakistan but still managed to get one point. Then they won that match against West Indies, reached the semi-finals, and spoiled it further by not even turning up,” he said.

“So, if they had already decided not to play in the semis, then why did they go all out to win that game? They spoiled another match for the organisers. I understand the rhetoric, the kind of message they were sending out. But they have to realise that the Indian government knows more than us,” Atul told Sportsboom.com.

He questioned the inconsistency in approach.

“When the government can allow the Pakistani hockey team to come and play here, who are we? Why try to spoil the ecosystem? I’m not pro-Pakistan by saying we should play them in multi-nation tournaments. But tomorrow, if Neeraj Chopra has to throw a javelin against a Pakistani athlete at the Olympics, would he abstain? If we go down this road, where do we stop?” he said.

“These things are never going to get better with Pakistan. Our neighbours are incorrigible. But there are various other ways to handle this. If we don’t play, the government knows it can totally destroy the ecosystem and the lives of people. The whole setup will be disturbed just to please your social media followers,” he added.

When asked whether India should play against Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup, Atul said: “Yes, absolutely. Because once the government has taken the decision to play in multi-nation tournaments, abstaining from them becomes disruptive. The lives of 30 to 40 thousand people depend on these matches. It’s not just the players, it’s the broadcast team, the production, the marketing teams. They all survive on this."

Atul made it clear that while he believes bilateral cricket with Pakistan should remain off the table, multi-nation fixtures are a different story.

“I’m the first guy to say no to bilaterals against Pakistan. We should do nothing that benefits Pakistan. But in multi-nation tournaments, when we have to play, we should,” he concluded.