Team India knows there is a significant chunk of the population back home that doesn’t want any cricketing relations with Pakistan in light of recent events. However, the players have been told to approach Sunday’s Asia Cup match professionally as they are bound to follow the government’s decision in this regard.
After the Pahalgam terror attack in April and the subsequent Operation Sindoor, there have been calls to boycott sporting ties with the neighbouring country – even head coach Gautam Gambhir expressed his personal opinion that there should be no engagements in the current scenario – but the government has allowed contests against Pakistan at multilateral events, while barring any bilateral matches.
“We obviously are aware of the sentiments and the strong feelings. And Gauti’s message has just been very professional, about not worrying about things that are not in our control,” India’s fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate said in a press conference on the eve of the match.
He stressed that the players are not insulated from the situation, but have to follow the diktat of the higher authorities.
“I have no doubt the players share the compassion and feeling of the vast majority of the Indian public. The Asia Cup was in limbo for a long period of time, and we were just waiting,” the Dutchman said, adding that the feelings going into this match were discussed in a team meeting.
“We didn’t think we were going to be coming at one stage. But obviously, you know what the government stance is. Now the team, particularly the players, have to put their sentiments and emotions behind. It’s actually something we addressed in the team meeting today.”
“The other side of the argument is that you separate sports from politics, and people have got different opinions on that. Hopefully, the way we play can represent how we feel about the country,” Ten Doeschate said.
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There has been a lot of chatter, especially on social media, with many ex-players arguing that India should boycott the Asia Cup match against Pakistan, as had happened during a recent Legends League tournament.
But Ten Doeschate felt that the Indian players were professional enough to take the emotion out of the game and just focus on giving their best on the field.
“Once we knew we were going to be here and playing, we have tried to get on with it. Just trying to be emotionless when approaching the cricket side of things. The guys are professional enough now. I’m sure individuals have different levels of feelings on the spectrum of where they feel the whole situation is. But the messaging has been to just focus on the cricket and try to just focus on the one game tomorrow.”
In the bigger picture, India is bidding to host major multi-sport extravaganzas, like the 2030 Commonwealth Games and 2036 Olympics, and refusing to engage any country in sporting contests in a multilateral setting can harm the prospects, as the Olympic Charter prohibits discrimination on a political basis.
