The veteran cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar said he would hate to see India giving away points to Pakistan by not playing them at the 2019 World Cup. The maestro of the game, who featured in five of the six matches India had played against their arch-rivals at the mega event had backed the idea of Sunil Gavaskar; who said instead of boycotting Pakistan in the UK, India should face them, beat them and ensure they don’t reach the semis. Tendulkar further added India had come victorious in the clashes against their neighbours before, and its time we beat them again.
I will back whatever the country decides – Sachin
On February 14th, a jeep carrying 300kgs of explosives ran into an Army convoy killing more than 42 CRPF jawans. Jaish-eh-Mohammad, the terrorist group claimed the responsibility of the same. As a result, the politicians and a few of the former cricketers including Sourav Ganguly had vouched to boycott Pakistan at the mega event.
On the other hand, team India head coach, Ravi Shastri and Harbhajan Singh shared a thought stating team will follow the instructions of the BCCI and the govt. in that matter. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar added the country comes first to him. He said,
“India has always come up trumps against Pakistan in the World Cup. Time to beat them once again. Would personally hate to give them two points and help them in the tournament,” Tendulkar told PTI. “Having said that, for me India always comes first, so whatever my country decides, I will back that decision with all my heart,”
India and Pakistan are scheduled to face off on June 16th in Manchester. As of now, an ICC meeting will take place on February 27th in Dubai, where the future of India-Pakistan match at the showpiece event will get decided.
