Sanjay Dwivedi, the father of Shubham Dwivedi, a victim of the Pahalgam terror attack, said on Friday that he is against India and Pakistan playing each other in the present T20 Asia Cup on September 14 in Dubai and that the Center should do something about it. He also underlined the general public’s opposition to any kind of interaction, including sports, with Pakistan and remembered the Indian government’s prior position of cutting off ties with Pakistan.
Anger over the terror assault in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 tourists were slain by terrorists on April 22, is the reason behind the outcry about India playing their bitter adversary in the competition.
“Pakistan killed 26 innocent citizens of our nation on April 22, 2025. Blood and water cannot flow together, the Indian government had said, and it will not have any links with Pakistan. The entire nation has opposed the India vs. Pakistan match since the day I learnt about it, arguing that there should be no political or athletic ties with Pakistan. I disagree with this and implore the administration to act while considering popular opinion,” Sanjay Dwivedi told ANI.
A policy pertaining to Indian athletes competing against Pakistani athletes in sporting events was updated by the central government in August. The policy states that while India will be permitted to take part in international tournaments, it will continue to abstain from bilateral competitions.
India defeated the United Arab Emirates by nine wickets on Wednesday in their Asia Cup opening match. On September 19, in Abu Dhabi, India will play their last group stage encounter against Oman following their match against Pakistan.
The top two teams from each group advance to the Super 4 round of the event following the group round. All of India’s Super 4 games will take place in Dubai if they win Group A.
India will play one Super 4 match in Abu Dhabi and the other two in Dubai if they place second. September 20–26 is when the Super 4 stage will take place.
The final, which is set for September 28, will take place in Dubai.
