"Bilkul Nahi Khelna Chahiye": Ex-India Star Slams Asia Cup 2025 Match vs Pakistan

Asia Cup 2025 will kick-start from September 9 in the UAE with Afghanistan taking on Hong Kong in the opening match. This Asia Cup is going to be a controversial one as it will be the first time that India will face Pakistan, since the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year. Many reports were making rounds that the continental tournament will be cancelled due to the tensed situation between India and Pakistan. However, the ACC announced that the tournament will be played and both India and Pakistan were placed in the same group.

Many former cricketers have opined that India should refuse to play against Pakistan, in order to respect the soldiers and people who lost their lives during the border tensions. Echoing that opinion, former India batter Kedar Jadhav also stated that the match against Pakistan should be cancelled.

"I think the Indian team should not play at all. As far as India is concerned, I think that wherever India plays, it will always win, but this match should not be played at all," Jadhav told the media on Sunday.

#WATCH | Pune: On India to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, Former Indian Cricketer and BJP leader Kedar Jadhav says, "I think the Indian team should not play at all. As far as India is concerned, I think that wherever India plays, it will always win, but this match should not… pic.twitter.com/M83rUBXJnc

— ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2025

"Ye match bilkul nahi khelna chahiye, aur khelenge bhi nahi, ye main daave ke saath keh sakta hun. (This match should not be played and India won't even play it. I can guarantee this)," he added.

The Asia Cup 2025 match between India and Pakistan is scheduled to be played on September 14 in Dubai. 

Earlier, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also stated that Team India should avoid playing against Pakistan as it makes a mockery of the soldiers, who lost their lives.

"They need to understand what is important and what is not. This is as simple as that. For me, the soldier who stands on the border, whose family often doesn't get to see him, who sometimes sacrifices his life and never returns home - their sacrifice is so immense for all of us. Compared to that, this is a very small thing, that we can't skip playing one cricket match. It's a very small matter," Harbhajan had said on Times of India.

"Our government has the same stance, 'Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakte.' (blood and sweat cannot co-exist). It cannot be the case that there's fighting on the border, tensions between the two nations, and we go to play cricket. Until these big issues are resolved, cricket is a very small matter. The nation always comes first," he added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Kedar Jadhav Asia Cup 2025 Cricket