Cricket: “Absolutely not!” India Head Coach Gautam Gambhir Reveals Thoughts On Ind-Pak Cricket Future
Gambhir calls for complete stop to India-Pakistan matches
April 22 marked the latest instalment in the ongoing feud between India and Pakistan, as an attack in Pahalagam, Kashmir, carried out by a terrorist group, The Resistance Front (TRF), resulted in the deaths of 26 people, mainly Indian tourists.
Two weeks later, India struck back with a military operation targeting nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, heightening the tensions to a boiling point between the two nations - one that forced the IPL and PSL to halt for over a week. However, both tournaments are back underway, and our cricket predictions will be available for the remainder of the competitions.
Despite both countries agreeing to a ceasefire and both T20 competitions resuming last weekend, the future of cricket between the nations is in serious doubt, and the Men in Blue’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is of the mind that India should sever all ties with the Green Shirts for future matches. Speaking to the media, Gambhir said:
“My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (terrorism) doesn't stop, there should not be anything between India and Pakistan. Cricket matches, Bollywood movies, and artists are not more important than the people and jawans of the country.”
India and Pakistan have not faced each other in a bilateral cricket series since as far back as January 2013, with their matches in recent times being limited only to global competitions, such as ICC tournaments and the Asia Cup.
The most recent encounter between the rivals was marred by controversy at the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year, where India refused to play their matches in the host nation, Pakistan, forcing the ICC to move their games to Dubai.
The ICC’s decision to allow the Men in Blue to play their Champions Trophy games at a neutral venue was not received well by the Pakistan Cricket Board, especially after the Shaheens toured India for the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup.
Gambhir went on to admit that his team would abide by whatever decision is taken by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the Indian government decide, saying, "Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicise it."
Asia Cup 2025 at risk of cancellation?
India was given hosting rights for the upcoming Men’s Asia Cup in September this year, which will also feature Pakistan, Bangladesh, the UAE, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong and Oman, while the Men in Blue are the defending champions.
Reports in recent weeks suggested that the BCCI had decided that India would neither host nor participate in the competition due to the escalating military and geopolitical tensions with Pakistan following the April 22 attacks.
However, the Board came forward on Monday to clarify the situation and reaffirm its commitment to the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) event, pouring cold water over growing anxiety among fans from all the nations involved in the competition. An official statement from the BCCI read:
“The Asia Cup matter or any other ACC event issue has not come up for discussion at any level. Till now, BCCI has not even discussed or taken any such steps regarding ensuing ACC events, leave alone writing anything to the ACC. At this stage, our prime focus is on the ongoing IPL and the subsequent England series, both men and women.”
At the time of writing, the Asia Cup 2025 is expected to go ahead as planned with India remaining as the tournament hosts, though the ACC has yet to release the official schedule or confirm the venues that will be used for the competition in September.
