Boycotting Indo-Pak World Cup will make no impact, says Pakistani fan

Adil Taj, a Pakistani cricket fan who sang the Indian national anthem during a match between the arch rivals at the Asia Cup, comes in support of the scheduled match at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, saying

"In the UAE, Pakistanis and Indians still share that old bond after the incident. Because of cricket, India toured Pakistan in 2004 and 2006. If you ask the players from that time, you will get to know how much love and affection they got on Pakistan soil," Taj told ANI in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

 

Citing examples of previous encounters between the two teams, Taj said former cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar have never failed to acknowledge that they have got more affection in India than Pakistan.

"Sachin Tendulkar's signed jersey is still framed at Afridi's home. And after Afridi's retirement, Virat Kohli gifted his own jersey, which has the signatures of all the current players and Kohli had written a message reading 'it was always a pleasure playing you Shahid Bhai'," he pointed out.

"Kohli had gifted his bat to Mohammad Amir. Kohli also gifted a bat to Afridi that he could donate for his Shahid Afridi Foundation. There are many more examples which reveal what kind of bond cricketers share. Cricketers and cricket fans have shared a good bond since a long time now," Taj said.

Requesting the Indian board and leaders, Taj added not to boycott the match as it is the much-awaited and mother of all matches.

"ICC director had said that they received more than four lakh ticket applications for the match in spite the given capacity of 25,000 at the stadium. Let us watch a crunching game. I hope the differences between the countries bridge soon and they have peace talks to end the differences," he said.

World Cup is scheduled to begin on May 30 in England and Wales, with India and Pakistan slated to lock horns on June 16 at the Old Trafford in Manchester.