India is set to take on Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025 cricket clash today. The match has attracted anger and criticism among opposition parties, who have termed it the Union Government’s “treason” and “shamelessness.”
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the match being played in Dubai, 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 on Saturday.
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 terrorist attack.
Twenty-six people, mostly tourists, were killed during a terrorist attack in the Baisaran meadow of south Kashmir’s Pahalgam hill station on 22 April. India launched Operation Sindoor – the precision attacks on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack in May.
‘Insult to national sentiments’
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced ‘Sindoor’ protests across Maharashtra, saying boycotting the match is an opportunity to convey to the world India’s stance on terrorism.
“Till the time terror does not stop, we shouldn’t maintain any relations with Pakistan,” the former Maharashtra chief minister said at a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday.
Targeting the BJP, he asked whether the government is going to announce that Operation Sindoor has been stopped, and appealed to patriots not to watch the contest as the wounds of the Pahalgam attack remain fresh.
“This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?” Thackeray asked.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut slammed the Centre over the issue, calling for a protest called ‘Sindoor Raksha Abhiyaan’ against the IND vs. PAK Asia Cup 2025 match. Raut asked if”blood” and “water” cannot flow together, then how can “blood” and “cricket” work together?
“We will protest against this India-Pakistan cricket match. Women will come on the streets, and our campaign is ‘Sindoor Raksha Abhiyan’. You said that water and blood will not flow together. If water and blood will not flow together, then how will blood and cricket work together? This is treason, shamelessness,” Sanjay Raut told reporters.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi questioned the “double standard” policy of the Union Government over relations with Pakistan and stressed a “fishy” feeling about the India vs Pakistan clash.
‘Martyrdom holds no value for the BCCI’
Aishanya, the widow of Kanpur businessman Shubham Dwivedi, who was killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, appealed to the people to boycott the match.
She described the decision as “deeply insensitive” and accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of disregarding the sentiments of the victims’ families. “Their martyrdom holds no value for the BCCI. Perhaps because none of their own were lost,” she told news agency PTI.
Expressing his anguish over the match, Sawan Parmar ,who lost his father and brother in the attack, said that the Operation Sindoor seemed like a “waste” now.
“… When we got to know the India vs Pakistan match is being organised, we were very disturbed. No sort of connection should remain with Pakistan… If you want to play the match, bring me back my 16-year-old brother who was shot with so many bullets… Operation Sindoor seems to be a waste now…” he said while speaking to ANI.
NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule on Thursday expressed shock over the Union Government’s stance on the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match, asking if the “blood and water” cannot flow together, then how “bat and ball” came together.
“I’m shocked by the stand taken by the government on the India-Pakistan match. On one hand, they say ‘Blood and water cannot flow together’, then how come this match is happening? If blood and water cannot flow together, then how can bat and ball come together?” Supriya Sule told reporters.
Driven by tournament rules: Thakur
This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?
Amid the row, BJP MP and former sports minister Anurag Thakur clarified that while India may face Pakistan in multinational tournaments, India’s stand on bilateral cricket ties remains unchanged. Speaking to ANI, Thakur said that India’s participation in such matches is driven by tournament rules, not a shift in its diplomatic and national policies.
“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,” said Thakur.
