India’s national cricket team head coach, Gautam Gambhir, said that India should stop playing against Pakistan entirely, as tensions between the two nations escalate, reports Al Jazeera.
“My personal answer to this is absolutely no,” Gambhir said on Tuesday, hours before India conducted air attacks on its neighbor. “Till all this [stops], there should not be anything between India and Pakistan.”
He added that the final decision about national cricket matches lies with the government and that he would respect whatever it decides.
While two-way cricket between India and Pakistan has been suspended since 2013, they still play each other in multi-team tournaments, mostly in neutral venues.
Any match between the archrivals remains a cricketing blockbuster and is declared sold out within hours after tickets go on sale. India has dominated the rivalry in recent years, but emotions still run high on either side of the border.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
