Uddhav Thackeray, the head of Shiv Sena (UBT), on Saturday, questioned India’s participation in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 match against Pakistan, accusing the government of conflating politics and commerce with patriotism.
Addressing reporters, Thackeray said: "Our Prime Minister said blood and water cannot flow together, so how can blood and cricket flow together? How can war and cricket be at the same time?… They have commercialised patriotism. This business of patriotism is only for money. They are going to play the match tomorrow because they want all the money they will get from it…”
He also announced that Shiv Sena (UBT) women members would stage a symbolic protest. "Tomorrow, Shiv Sena (UBT) women workers will come out onto the streets in Maharashtra and they are going to send sindoor from every house to PM Modi," he said.
Meanwhile, ahead of the match, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Anurag Thakur stated that while participating in multinational tournaments organised by the ACC or ICC is a "compulsion" for nations, India does not and will not play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan until terrorist attacks on the country cease.
Speaking to reporters, Thakur said: "When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate. If they don’t do that, they will be eliminated from the tournament, they will have to forfeit the match and the other team will get the points… But India doesn’t play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan. We have made this decision for years that India won’t play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan until Pakistan stops terrorist attacks on India.”
Aishanya Dwivedi, the wife of Pahalgam terror attack victim Shubham Dwivedi, also called for a boycott of the upcoming cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday.
She told the media: “I cannot understand this. I urge people to boycott this. Do not go to watch this and do not switch on your TV for this.”
Slamming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), she said the board showed a lack of empathy towards the families of the 26 people killed in the terror attack. “BCCI should not have accepted a match between India and Pakistan… I think BCCI is not sentimental towards those 26 families and those who made the ultimate sacrifice during Operation Sindoor,” Dwivedi said.
The Indian national cricket team will be playing against Pakistan for the first time in an international cricket match since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Before the clash, there had been widespread calls from the opposition to boycott the match. However, the Centre had not objected to the Indian team playing against Pakistan in any multinational tournament.
Also read: Uddhav meets Raj Thackeray amid alliance buzz
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