Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has come out in support of the India-Pakistan clash at the Asia Cup. Ganguly — who has also previously served as BCCI president — stated that while India must take a strong stance against terrorism, sport must continue.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Ganguly said, “I am okay. The sport must go on. At the same time, Pahalgam should not happen, but the sport must go on. Terrorism must not happen; it needs to be stopped. India took a strong stance towards terrorism… Sport needs to be played.”
The tournament is all set to begin on 9 September and will end with the final on 28 September. While India are the official hosts of the Asia Cup, the T20 event will be held in the UAE as part of the agreement between India and Pakistan to play their multilateral matches at neutral venues.
India and Pakistan are in the same group at the Asia Cup along with UAE and Oman. Meanwhile, Group B consists of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
The two teams being in the same group means they will clash at least twice in the tournament — once in the group stage and again in the Super 4s. A third face-off is also possible if both teams qualify for the final.
WCL match cancelled due to geopolitical tensions:
Notably, the decision to play between India and Pakistan at the Asia Cup came shortly after a World Championship of Legends match between India Champions and Pakistan Champions was called off after some India players refused to participate in the contest.
Former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan had also posted a public statement on why he would not feature in the contest, stating, “Jo kadam 11 May ko liya, uspe aaj bhi waise hi khada hoon. Mera desh mere liye sab kuch hai, aur desh se badhkar kuch nahi hota. (I stand by the decision I took on May 11. My country is everything for me and nothing is bigger than the country)”
Meanwhile, ACC Chairman and Pakistan Cricket Board President Mohsin Naqvi announced the dates for the multilateral tournament earlier in the month in a post on X. He wrote, “This year marks yet another milestone in ACC’s journey… This will be Asia Cup at its finest,”
