 "Members of the Shiv Sena (UBT) political party stage a protest against the Asia Cup match between India and Pakistan in Mumbai on Sunday, 14 September. AP")
The hour has finally arrived. India and Pakistan are set to face each other later this evening, with players expected to leave their respective hotels and make their way to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It was at this very venue where the two arch-rivals had faced off in their ICC Champions Trophy Group A match, in which Virat Kohli slammed yet another century in a winning cause, setting up a comfortable six- wicket victory for the Men in Blue.
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The situation, however, couldn’t be more different in the build-up to their Asia Cup Group A match. And it’s not just due to the change in format from ODI to T20I, as well as the absence of key names such as Kohli and Rohit Sharma on the Indian side, or Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in Pakistan.
Ind-Pak clash taking place under the shadow of war and terrorism
The match, after all, will be taking place less than half-a-year after diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Islamabad hit rock bottom following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which then led to a military response from India codenamed ‘Operation Sindoor’.
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The Pahalgam attack and the subsequent armed conflict between the two nuclear powers led to speculations of the Asia Cup getting called off this year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India had, additionally, been advised by former cricketers as well as Indian cricket fans to sever all cricketing ties with Pakistan, against whom India has not played a bilateral series since January 2013.
The BCCI, however, gave their nod of approval not just for the continental tournament to go ahead but for India and Pakistan to be grouped together as usual. And it wasn’t just the board, with the Government of India and the Supreme Court also voicing their support for the Asia Cup showdown between the two nations to go ahead.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBoycott trends continue to dominate social media
After revisiting boycott calls for the Indo-Pakistani match from former cricketers and politicians who are part of the Opposition in the build-up to the upcoming match, we take a look at similar messages from social media users.
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Here are select reactions: