“Bilateral Matches With Pakistan Won’t Be Held Until.” ICC World Cup 2023- Anurag Thakur, Minister of Sports, On India-Pakistan Relations. The partnership between India and Pakistan in bilateral cricket will not soon resume, according to Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur. The former BCCI president made his remarks in the wake of the most recent terrorist incident in the Anantnag area of Jammu and Kashmir.
In an incident with terrorists earlier this week, three officers, two from the Army and one from the police were slain. In a subsequent update on Friday (September 15), it was revealed that a soldier had vanished and that two further soldiers had sustained injuries in a separate conflict with terrorists that had been ongoing for more than 48 hours.
In the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the BCCI and the Indian government halted the bilateral cricket relations between India and Pakistan in 2008. Since then, Pakistan has only visited India for a brief limited-overs series during the 2012–2013 season, and the two countries have only played one bilateral series together.
In recent years, India and Pakistan have only faced off in ICC tournaments and Asia Cups. Many others have also urged the BCCI to sever all cricketing links with Pakistan, including competing against them in international competitions like the Asia Cup.
According to Anurag Thakur, the BCCI has long resolved that there won’t be any bilateral cricket matches with Pakistan until they stop infiltrating India and engaging in cross-border terrorism.
In terms of sports, the BCCI had already made the decision that bilateral matches with Pakistan would not take place unless they stopped cross-border terrorism and infiltration. Anurag Thakur stated on Friday, “I believe that this is the sentiment of every regular person of this nation.
It was planned for Pakistan to host the full 2023 Asia Cup. But after India declined to go to Pakistan, Sri Lanka was chosen as a neutral location. Pakistan will arrive in India for the ICC World Cup 2023 later this month.
India has meantime secured a spot in the Asia Cup championship game. On September 17, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the Men in Blue will square off against the reigning champions Sri Lanka.
