LAHORE: After months of boycott slogans and political pressure, India has agreed to face Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup.
In recent months, Hindu nationalist groups in India pushed for a sports boycott against Pakistan following military tensions between the two countries. However, cricket experts and analysts had predicted that a complete boycott was unlikely, as it could cause India significant financial losses.
According to media reports. The calls for patriotism and boycott eventually gave way to financial realities. Interestingly, India refused to play Pakistan in the Legends Championship, where there were no major financial risks involved. But in the Asia Cup, a high-profile tournament, India has decided to participate without conditions.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia in an interview with Indian media that a full boycott of Pakistan in sports is not possible. He explained that refusing to play Pakistan in multinational tournaments could lead to strict sanctions from the ICC or the Asian Cricket Council, which would also hurt the careers of young cricketers.
He added that the central government makes policies regarding participation in sports, and the decision was taken with great care to ensure that national sports federations could function smoothly. The government, he said, had considered all factors, including the interests of federations and concerns of players. The BCCI is simply following those guidelines.
India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet on September 14 in the group stage. Depending on results, the two sides could face each other up to three times during the tournament.
