Harbhajan Singh has questioned the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for granting clearance to play the Men's Asia Cup and to play against Pakistan in the wake of increased tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
There were several voices that had called for boycotting Pakistan in every field after these incidents, and there was rampant speculation that the Indian team would pull out from the tournament. The announcement of the Asia Cup calendar, though, showed otherwise.
India and Pakistan may encounter each other three times at the tournament — once in the group stage on September 14 in Dubai, then again in the Super 4s, and possibly in the final if both the teams make it through.
The remarks by Harbhajan follow after he was embroiled in a controversy of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) match between the Pakistan Champions and India Champions. Social media backlash saw the match cancelled. Indian cricketers such as Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, and Irfan Pathan had already announced their availability for the game in the name of national pride before organisers made the cancellation. Subsequently, the India Champions also pulled out of the Pakistan semi-final, giving them a walkover to the final, where they lost to South Africa.
Talking to The Times of India about India playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup, Harbhajan, the "Turbantor," had this to say: "They need to understand what is important and what is not. This is as simple as that.". For me, the soldier who walks at the border, whose family even doesn't get to see him, whose life is sometimes risked and he never comes back home — their sacrifice is so great for all of us. In comparison to that, this is a very minor thing, that we cannot miss playing a single cricket match. It's a very minor issue."
"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.
Harbhajan Singh emphasized that no one is greater than the country and that the interests of the country should be kept paramount. Though India and Pakistan have abstained from playing bilateral cricket for quite a long time, the recent Kashmir terror attack has mounted demands for India to boycott its longstanding rival even during multi-nation tournaments like the World Cup and the Asia Cup.
“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. 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),” said the former India spinner, who has more than 400 Test wickets to his name.
“At the border, our brothers are standing, protecting us and our country. Look at their courage, the big hearts with which they serve. Think about what their families go through when they don’t return home. And here we are, playing cricket,” he added.
Lastly, the former India spinner also urged the country's media to stop giving weightage to Pakistani statements. He said that Indian players should no longer shake hands with Pakistani players.
“Are they that important? Are they that important that every news channel has to give weightage to them? When you have boycotted them, when you don't want to talk to them, then why show them here? This is the duty of the media — to stop this. They shouldn't be adding fuel to the fire,” said Harbhajan.
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