Ahead of India’s blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday, fans have threatened to boycott the match on social media due to Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism, once again sparking a ‘Boycott’ trend and debate that if sports and politics/international relations can be kept separate. Earlier on September 13, an Indian Army Colonel commanding a Rashtriya Rifles Unit along with a Major and a Deputy Superintendent of Police were killed in a gunfight with terrorists in the Kokernag area of Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
The pictures, and videos of Pakistani players receiving a warm welcome for their matches in the World Cup in India have gone viral after this encounter, with many questioning why Pakistani players are being treated this way when the instances of terrorism continue from Pakistan’s side, causing loss of life and property in India, especially of soldiers, security and police forces.
The announcement of a pre-match show in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, featuring Bollywood singers Arijit Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, and Sukhwinder Singh by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also made plenty of fans furious. It is notable that no opening ceremony was held for the ICC Cricket World Cup, being hosted in India for the first time ever.
Also, India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since 2013 and India last travelled to Pakistan for the 2008 Asia Cup. Since 2013, India has only played Pakistan in ICC tournaments like the T20 World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy, and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournament, Asia Cup.
The viral media of Pakistan players receiving a warm welcome and announcement of the pre-match show in Ahmedabad ahead of the IND-PAK clash led to many social media users voicing out their displeasure, threatening to boycott the show and the match itself.
“What BCCI and Jay Shah have done in the honor of the Pakistan team will not be tolerated at all. Our soldiers are fighting bravely against Pakistan-supported terrorists on the border. #BoycottIndoPakMatch #BoycottIndoPakMatch,” said a user.
“Cricket match is nothing infront of our Soldiers. Enemies are always enemy. Pakistani doesn’t deserve this type of welcome. #BoycottIndoPakMatch #INDvsPAK #IndiaVsPakistan #AUSvsSA #INDvPAK #INDvsAFG #INDvAFG #RohitSharma #TrainAccident #ViratKohli #BoycottIndoPakMatch,” said another user.
“Shame on you @arijitsingh @Shankar_Live and @Sukhwindermusic that you will be singing for the Pakistani for the money #BoycottIndoPakMatch #BoycottBCCI,” said another user.
Coming to the match, India began their World Cup campaign with comprehensive wins over Australia and Afghanistan, while Pakistan also emerged victorious in their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Fans are counting on the likes of Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj to come up with the goods again as the hosts go to battle against their bitter rivals.
India squad:Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav.
Pakistan squad:Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim.
