India’s leading batsman Gautam Gambhir has taken a clear stand on Indo-Pak conflict. Gambhir has advocated that playing Pakistan in current atmosphere is not viable and it should be isolated. The Delhi dasher recently made a comeback after the gap of two years against New Zealand at Indore.
“Wouldn’t even think of playing cricket with Pakistan,” Gambhir told NDTV on Tuesday, adding: “Indian lives more important than sports.”
The terrorist attack that happen in Jammu & Kashmir’s Uri sector on September 18 shook the nation, where 19 soldiers were martyred and it was carried out by Pakistani extremist groups. India retaliated by conducting surgical strikes and situation has been volatile since then.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked International Cricket Council (ICC) to stop pairing Pakistan in the same group with India in multi-nation tournaments.
India and Pakistan don’t have bilateral cricket relationship since 2013. The upcoming bilateral women’s series between India and Pakistan is also under a cloud.
Gambhir said people should think about army personnel and their families before saying that politics and sports should not be mixed.
“I absolutely endorse that we should not have any relation or ties with Pakistan until the time this cross border terrorism finishes. People need to put themselves in army’s shoes who have lost their kids, someone have lost their father, son.
“We can say this sitting in an AC room that cricket or bollywood should not be compared to politics as long as we don’t think ourselves as Indians, or think for our own countrymen. So, I totally endorse that until the time we don’t secure our own Indians, our own countrymen, all other things can be kept aside,” he said.
Gambhir has always played with a straight bat and he wears his heart on his sleeve. The game of cricket cannot act as a medium to normalise the situation. The atmosphere between the neighbours is not good and to attain peace Pakistan need to clean up the mess and act on India’s demand of eliminating terror from its soil.