The India-Pakistan encounter in World Cup 2019 has became the subject of a lot of controversy after the Pulwama attacks increased tensions between the two nations once again. While one half of the experts believe that India should not play Pakistan even if that means losing two points while the other section is of the opinion that cricket is different from cricket and a win on the playing field will be the right answer to Pakistan.

Former India opener Gautam Gambhir made his stand clear on the topic and said that even if India get eliminated from the tournament for not playing Pakistan, the fans should support the national team.

“We should also boycott the Asia cup so we don’t play Pakistan. No problem in forfeiting 2 points India-Pak match but the entire country should then stand behind the team and not blame them for not making it to the semis or finals,” Gambhir told Times Now.

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There was a section of former India cricketers who wanted India to play Pakistan but Gambhir said that sport is not over politics and India should boycott Pakistan completely.

“That certain section who say sport is over politics need not be considered. Nothing is bigger than the loves of the soldiers for me. We can’t put conditional bans on Pakistan, we should stop everything,” Gambhir said.

First Published: Mar 18, 2019 16:41 IST