"Just the way Indian Army defeated Pak Army...": Indian cricket fans pray for Team India's victory against Pakistan in Asia Cup

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 14 (ANI): Cricket fans in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi performed aarti and prayed for team India's victory against Pakistan in the Asia Cup match on Sunday.
An Indian Cricket fan who participated in the pooja said, "We hope that just the way our Indian Army defeated the Pakistani Army, similarly, we hope that our cricket team will also defeat their team one-sidedly today. The Pakistani team lags behind us in terms of cricketing skills and understanding of cricket. Our cricket team will fight like soldiers, and that is why we are calling it Operation Sindoor 2."
Meanwhile, the scheduled cricket match is facing severe criticism from the families of the Pahalgam victims as well as the opposition.
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the upcoming India-Pakistan match in the ongoing Asia Cup, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi questioned the decision to play cricket matches with the rival country and sought clarity from the government on the monetary gains compared to the loss of human lives.
"My question to the Chief Minister of Assam, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and all of them is that you don't have the power to refuse to play a cricket match against Pakistan, which asked for the religion of our 26 citizens in Pahalgam and shot them," Owaisi said, speaking to the media.
The AIMIM chief questioned the BJP whether the money earned through the match is more "valuable" than the lives of 26 citizens who were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack.
The anger over India facing Pakistan in the tournament stems from the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, during which 26 tourists were killed on April 22 by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. The emotions around the contest are mixed, and there have been calls to boycott the fixture against Pakistan. (ANI)