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Cricket fans will be treated to a blockbuster showdown on Sunday, as India take on arch-rivals Pakistan at the 2025 Asia Cup in Dubai. The fixture comes just four months after a military conflict between both countries. It was triggered due to a terrorist attack in Pahalgam in April, and 26 civilians were killed. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by TRF (The Resistance Front), an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. But then, after a few days, TRF denied its involvement in the attack.
The fixture has led to some criticism from citizens in India, who feel that the national team should not be facing Pakistan in any sporting event. According to the Indian government’s policy, India can face Pakistan in multinational tournaments, but not bilateral series.
Kamran Akmm is India vs Pakistan Clash
Speaking to Telecom Asia Sport, former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal weighed in on the upcoming fixture. “These are tough times in India-Pakistan relations. It will be tense, and that is why there are fears. But I think it will get better only if the game goes well,” he said.
Urging fans to behave properly in the stadium, he said, “Fans should show a big heart and come together to enjoy the full match. It should be an atmosphere like in the past. I request fans not to cross the line, whether they are from Pakistan or India. They must make the match successful so that Indo-Pak matches continue.”
Akmal stated that aggressive-style of play has been a mainstay in India vs Pakistan clashes, but asked players to not cross the line.
“Aggression is the beauty of an India-Pakistan match. How to take that aggression is the key. Respect should be there. Players will have to remember cricket is a gentleman’s game. If they keep that in mind, I am sure Sunday’s match will go untroubled,” he said.
Citing an example, he recalled, “There was an ‘A’ team match in Oman last year where Sufiyan Muqeem and Abhishek Sharma had a verbal clash. Aggression will always be there, but it should be controlled.”
During the 2010 Asia Cup, Akmal also had a on-field spat with Gautam Gambhir, who is India’s current head coach. “It was a misunderstanding. Gautam is a very good person. We had toured Kenya together for an ‘A’ team event and became good friends. In that Asia Cup match, I appealed when he missed a shot. He was talking to himself about the miss, but I thought he said something to me. That’s how the misunderstanding happened,” he said.
Pakistan open their Asia Cup campaign on Friday, against Oman. Meanwhile, India defeated UAE in their opener.
