No Need For India-Pak Cricket Till There's Terrorism In Kashmir: Gautam Gambhir
Member of Parliament and former star cricketer Gautam Gambhir has strongly opposed the idea of resumption of cricket between India and Pakistan until Islamabad stops cross-border terrorism in Jammu &
The former left-handed opening batsman believes that it is the moral responsibility of each and every Indian to speak for the soldiers who are taking bullets in Jammu & Kashmir, because of Pakistan's cross-border terrorism. "They give their lives to protect us. The least we can do is stand by them," says the cricketer under whose captaincy, the Indian team won all six ODIs matches between 2010 and 2011.
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Till the time Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism, he said, India should not play cricket with their team. "I would have taken this stand with or without being in politics. I have always held similar views," the only Indian and one of four international cricketers to have scored hundreds in five consecutive test matches, said emphatically.
Recalling his famous run-ins with Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi, on and off the field, over Kashmir, Gambhir reiterated that he would never appreciate the politicization of the game.
"Afridi's statement during the 2011 semi-final match that he wanted to win the toss for Kashmiris (actually we won that semi-final). It was a ridiculous statement. We don't talk about Pakistan's issues, so why should talk about our issues? They can deal with their problems and we can handle our own issues."
"But Afridi politicized the toss. No one appreciated that. So when we won the game I said that I wanted to dedicate it to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. My stand remains. I say things which I believe. I don't say things to make headlines. That is not something that excites me," Gambhir said very firmly.
