Multinational tournaments...are "compulsion", "necessity": Anurag Thakur says India doesn't play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], September 13 (ANI): BJP MP Anurag Thakur on Saturday said that while participation in multinational tournaments organised by the ACC or ICC is a "compulsion" for nations, India does not play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan and will continue to avoid them until terrorist attacks on the country stop, ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 match between the two sides.
Addressing 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."
Meanwhile, ahead of the upcoming "India vs Pakistan" match in the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on September 14, Sanjay Dwivedi, father of Pahalgam terror attack victim Shubham Dwivedi has said there should be no political or sports ties with Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
He also urged the government to cancel the match.
Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Dwivedi said, "On 22nd April 2025, Pakistan killed 26 innocent people of our country. The government of India had said that it would have no relations with Pakistan and that blood and water cannot flow together."
"Since the day I got to know (about the India vs Pakistan match), not just me but the entire country has been opposing it and saying that there should be no relations, political or in the sports field, with Pakistan. I oppose this and urge the government to take action in this matter, keeping the public sentiment in mind," he said.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a request to urgently list a plea seeking an interim stay on the cricket match between India and Pakistan. While rejecting the request, a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi stated that the match should go on.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner sought that the plea be heard urgently on Friday as the said match is set to take place on Sunday this week. However, the Court declined the request.
The plea had been filed by one Urvashi Jain, who has challenged the scheduled match by contending that playing with Pakistan would send an opposite message and that the dignity and security of citizens come before entertainment.
"Cricket between nations is meant to show harmony and friendship. But after the Pahalgam Terror Attack and Operation Sindoor, when our people died and our soldiers risked everything, playing with Pakistan sent the opposite message that while our soldiers sacrifice their lives, we are celebrating sports with the same families of the victims who lost their lives at the hands of the Pakistani terrorist", the plea stated.
It further asserted that the cricket match between India and Pakistan is detrimental to the national interest, to the morale of the armed forces and of the nation as a whole. Additionally, the plea stated that the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports does not recognise any official cricket federation, while the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) operates like "a nation within a nation", insensitive to the national problems, calamities, sorrows and so on.
The petitioner further contended that organising a cricket match with Pakistan amid ongoing tensions is sending out an unhealthy message to the armed forces and the public in general.
"Operation Sindoor is still ongoing against the terror base camps in Pakistan. When we still have infiltrations in a non-stop manner in the valley of Kashmir, our armed forces have been carrying out day & night search operations fighting the infiltrators from Pakistan, our soldiers are sacrificing their lives and citizens too falling prey to the bullets of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists", the plea argued.
The India national cricket team is taking on Pakistan for the first time in an international cricket match after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Ahead of the clash, there had been a widespread demand from the opposition to boycott the match. However, the Centre had issued no objection from the Indian team to playing against Pakistan in any multi-nation tournament. (ANI)