'We Would Not Play With Pakistan Until They End Terrorism…,' Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur
Anurag Thakur, the Union Sports Minister, said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had already agreed that a bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan wouldn't happen until Pakistan stopped "terrorism" after the Anantnag encounter.
"BCCI had decided a long time ago that we wouldn't play bilateral matches with Pakistan until they stopped terrorism, attacks across the border, and infiltration," Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters. I think the country and the public share the same feelings."
The comment comes after three top Indian security officials were killed in a gunfight with terrorists from Pakistan in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, which has angered the whole country.
In the ongoing gunfight in the Anantnag area, a Colonel of the Army who was in charge of a Quick Response Team (QRT) of the Rashtriya Rifles was killed. In the Kokernag area, enemy fire also killed a Major in the Army and a Deputy Superintendent with the Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonak, and Humayun Bhat were named as the Army leaders and DSP who were killed. Since 2012/13, India and Pakistan haven't played a bilateral series.
After that series, bilateral cricket ties between the two neighbours were put on hold because political tensions were high between India and Pakistan.
Roger Binny, the president of the BCCI, and Rajeev Shukla, the vice president, went to Pakistan earlier this month. They went there because the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and other cricket boards to watch Asia Cup games in Lahore. At a gala meal there, they also met players from the Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka teams.
Shukla said that the visit was good and that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did a good job of making him feel welcome. The board had asked for cricket games between India and Pakistan to start up again, but that would be up to the centre.
"It was a good visit that lasted two days. The Governor gave us a dinner to celebrate us. People from the Pakistan Cricket Board also did a good job of making people feel welcome. They wanted cricket games between the two countries to start up again.
We told them that it would be up to our government to decide, and we would do whatever our government told us to do. Shukla said, "It was a cricket visit, and there was nothing political about it."
Notably, the Pakistani cricket team will be in India next month to play in the 50-over World Cup. On October 14, in Ahmedabad, they will play India in a league match. Last year, BCCI president Jay Shah said that India would not go to the Asia Cup 2023, which will be held in a neutral location and be hosted by Pakistan. Because of this, for the Asia Cup, a hybrid plan was used.