Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday adopted a hardline position regarding India’s T20 World Cup fixture against Pakistan, asserting that neighbouring Pakistan must be regarded as an enemy. “Pakistan is the enemy of our country, and it should be treated like that only. We have no dealings with them. Those who are on the border know how Pakistan is fighting a proxy war against India,” stated Randhawa, who hails from the border district of Gurdaspur in Punjab.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut made sharper accusations, claiming that India-Pakistan cricket encounters generate enormous betting revenues. The fixture is set for Sunday, February 15, evening in Colombo. “This is not an India-Pakistan match. This is a Jay Shah vs Pakistan match. The people of India do not want it,” Raut declared at a press conference in Mumbai, referring to the ICC chief, whose father Amit Shah serves as India’s home minister and is widely seen as second to PM Narendra Modi. Jay Shah has not yet responded to the statement.
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The remarks follow Pakistan’s reversal of its decision to boycott the group-stage encounter. The Pakistan team had originally planned to skip the match in solidarity with Bangladesh, which withdrew from the tournament after the ICC turned down its appeal to relocate venues outside India citing “security concerns”. The controversy erupted after BJP politicians and Hindutva rightwing groups pointed to killings of Hindus in Bangladesh, and protested against IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by actor Shah Rukh Khan, signing a Bangladeshi player.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, also a minister in the Shehbaz Sharif government, will attend Sunday’s match and is expected to hold discussions with ICC officials on the sidelines, news agency PTI reported. Naqvi had infamously taken away the Asia Cup trophy last October after Team India refused to accept it from him in his capacity as the Asian Cricket Council chairman.
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