India shouldn't play Pakistan even at ICC events till terrorism ends: Gautam Gambhir
New Delhi, May 6 (PTI): India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday called for a complete halt to cricketing engagements with Pakistan at any forum, including Asia Cup and ICC events, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
At an ABP event, Gambhir said the national team should not be playing the arch-rivals till cross-border terrorism ends.
India have not played a full series against Pakistan since 2007 due to the tense relations between both countries. They only play each other at multi-team events and even that should be discontinued, said Gambhir.
"My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (cross-border terrorism) doesn't stop there should not be anything between India and Pakistan," said Gambhir when asked about the future of Indo-Pak cricket in the current environment.
In a terror attack on April 22 in south Kashmir's Pahalgam town, 26 people, mostly tourists, were gunned down.
Responding to the gruesome incident, India announced several measures against Pakistan, including suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties in view of cross-border links to the attack.
"Ultimately this is government's call whether we play them or not. I have said this before also, no cricket match or Bollywood or any other interaction is more important than the life of Indian soldiers and Indian citizens," Gambhir said.
"Matches will keep happening, movies will be made, singers will continue to perform but nothing comes close to losing a loved one in your family."
Asked specifically about India playing Pakistan in the Asia Cup this year or the T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka next year, Gambhir placed the onus on the BCCI and the government.
"This is not up to me, this is for BCCI and more importantly the government to decide whether we should play them or not.
"Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicise it."
In the recent Champions Trophy, India played all their games in Dubai and not host country Pakistan owing to security concerns.
As part of an agreement worked out between the BCCI, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the ICC, all India-Pakistan matches in ICC events will be played in a neutral country till the 2027 cycle.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
