"Khoon Aur Paani Ek Saath...": Harbhajan Singh Slams Team India For Playing vs Pakistan In Asia Cup

Asia Cup 2025 is all set to begin from September 9 in the UAE. This is going to be a memorable tournament as India will be facing Pakistan for the first time, since the Pahalgam terror attack in April this year. Innocent people lost their lives during the attack, which prompted a war-like situation between the two nations. Following this, any kind of relation with Pakistan was avoided from the Indian side and playing the match against the neighbours was also criticised.

As the Asia Cup approaches, 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 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.

The former spinner also stated that nothing is bigger than the nation and the Indian players should respect that.

"Whatever our identity is, it's because of this country. Whether you are a player, an actor, or anyone else, no one is bigger than the nation. The country comes first, and the duties we owe to it must be fulfilled," said Harbhajan.

"Cricket match na khelna bahut maamuli si cheez hai desh ke saamne (Not playing a cricket match is nothing compared to the importance of the nation)," he added.

India and Pakistan will face each other in the Asia Cup 2025 on September 14.The final match of the tournament will be played on September 28.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Harbhajan Singh Asia Cup 2025 Cricket