Our Bureau
Mumbai
There was a lot of chatter around the Indian team’s clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 this Sunday, on September 14th. The contest was surrounded by a lot of political tensions between the two nations and owing to that barring the game in itself, there was no exchange between the two teams. The Indian team decided to not go for the customary handshake and shut the doors of their dressing room for the Pakistan team.
However, former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina has come out and claimed that if you go and ask any player they will tell you that they didn’t want to be part of the match. They played because the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had agreed to participate in the tournament otherwise they would’ve opted out of the match.
“I know one thing for sure. If you personally ask the players, none of them wants to play the Asia Cup. In a way, they are forced because the BCCI has agreed to it. I am sad that India are playing against Pakistan, but I can also say for a fact that if Suryakumar Yadav and his players are asked about their personal opinions about playing against Pakistan, they would have said no. None of them wanted to play,” Raina said.
The sentiment to not play against Pakistan came because of the recent tensions that had risen between the two nations after the Pahalgam terror attack, which was followed by the Operation Sindoor. When the BCCI agreed to participate against Pakistan in the Asia Cup many even demanded the match to be boycotted as they stated that there shouldn’t be any interaction with Pakistan on any front.
