NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Kedar Jadhav has made a daring declare relating to the much-anticipated India vs Pakistan conflict within the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Whereas cricket followers the world over are eagerly ready for the high-voltage encounter, Jadhav believes the match won’t happen in any respect.Talking on the matter, the previous Chennai Tremendous Kings all-rounder stated: “I feel the Indian workforce shouldn’t play in any respect. So far as India is worried, I feel that wherever India performs, it can at all times win, however this match shouldn’t be performed in any respect, and they won’t play. I can say this with confidence … Operation Sindoor is successful, it’s profitable…”India are drawn in Group A alongside Oman, hosts United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. Group B options Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka. The match begins on September 9, with India scheduled to face arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14 on the Dubai Worldwide Cricket Stadium.Earlier, legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh additionally didn’t mince phrases when requested if India ought to boycott Pakistan within the Asia Cup.“Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakte. Hum unko itni significance kyun dete hain? [Why do we give them so much importance?],” Harbhajan informed TimesofIndia.com.Harbhajan was a part of the not too long ago concluded World Championship of Legends (WCL), the place India Champions refused to play Pakistan Champions in each the group stage and the semi-final. The squad — that includes stalwarts like Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan — took this stand within the wake of the ugly Pahalgam terror assault.
For Harbhajan, “nation comes first,” and he believes the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian workforce also needs to refuse to play the neighbours.“They should perceive what’s necessary and what’s not. This is so simple as that. For me, humare desh ka wo jawan jo sarhad par khada hua hai, unki households jo kayi baar unko nahi dekh paati hain, unki shahadat ho jaati hai, wo ghar wapas nahi laut paate hain — unki itni badi sacrifice hoti hai hum sabke liye. Toh ye to bahut chhoti si baat hai ki hum ek cricket match na chhod sakein [For me, the soldier who stands on the border, whose family often doesn’t get to see him, who sometimes sacrifices his life and never returns home — their sacrifice is so immense for all of us. Compared to that, this is a very small thing — that we can’t even skip playing one cricket match. It’s a very small matter],” Harbhajan informed TimesofIndia.com in an unique interview.