The build-up to the India-Pakistan Asia Cup face-off has ignited a storm of political outrage and public emotion across the country. The match, often billed as cricket&rsquo;s fiercest rivalry, is this time being seen through the lens of grief, anger and wounded national sentiment.
Aishanya, the young widow of Kanpur businessman Shubham Dwivedi who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year, made a heartfelt appeal to people to boycott the game. &ldquo;Their martyrdom holds no value for the BCCI. Perhaps because none of their own were lost,&rdquo; she said, calling the decision to go ahead with the match &ldquo;deeply insensitive.&rdquo; Her words found an echo among several Opposition leaders who accused the cricket board and the central leadership of insulting the families of those who lost their lives in the April massacre, where 26 civilians were gunned down in the Baisaran meadows of south Kashmir.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray sharpened the attack, launching what he called &lsquo;Sindoor&rsquo; protests across the state. &ldquo;Till the time terror does not stop, we shouldn't maintain any relations with Pakistan. This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?&rdquo; he asked, urging patriots to switch off their televisions on match day. In Delhi, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj went a step further, torching an effigy symbolising Pakistani cricketers. &ldquo;This is a gross humiliation of our women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack,&rdquo; he said, later posting on X in Hindi that Pakistan&rsquo;s players mock Indian widows, yet India continues to play cricket with them.
The anger has been amplified by leaders from the Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and AIMIM, all of whom voiced strong disapproval of the match. Yet, as tempers flared, the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena countered Thackeray, accusing him of hypocrisy. &ldquo;Thackeray, who abandoned Hindutva for power and sings praises of Pakistan, cannot suddenly oppose such matches,&rdquo; said Sena MP Naresh Mhaske. Maharashtra&rsquo;s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar struck a middle ground, saying in a country of 140 crore people, differences of opinion were inevitable, some would oppose the contest while others would support it.
From the ruling party&rsquo;s corner, BJP leader and former sports minister Anurag Thakur attempted to put the controversy in perspective. He reminded critics that India&rsquo;s participation in multinational tournaments was a matter of compulsion, not choice. &ldquo;When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a necessity. If they don&rsquo;t play, India will have to forfeit and hand points to Pakistan,&rdquo; he said. But he underlined that the policy on bilateral cricket ties remains unchanged. &ldquo;India won&rsquo;t play a bilateral series with Pakistan until Pakistan stops terrorist attacks on India.&rdquo;
As the debate rages on, the cricket field is turning into a stage where politics, grief and patriotism are colliding, and for many, the question looms larger than the game itself; should India play Pakistan at all?

Pahalgam attack widows, Opposition leaders slam BCCI over Asia Cup face-off

Boycott calls shadow India-Pak clash

Pahalgam attack widows, Opposition leaders slam BCCI over Asia Cup face-off

September 14, 2025 | 17:26 IST