NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday called for a complete halt to cricketing engagements with Pakistan at any forum, including Asia Cup and International Cricket Council events, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.

India has not played bilateral cricket against Pakistan since 2007 due to tense relations between the countries. They only play each other at multi-team events and Gambhir believed that even that should be discontinued.

“Till all this doesn’t stop there should not be anything between India and Pakistan,” Gambhir said in the wake of the recent terror attack in the Pahalgam region of the Indian Occupied Kashmir.

As many as 26 people, mostly tourists, were gunned down in the attack, which India blames Pakistan for perpetrating.

As a reaction to the incident, India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only land border crossing at Attari and downgrading of diplomatic ties.

“Ultimately this is government’s call whether we play them or not,” said Gambhir. “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.

“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 Board of Control for Cricket in India and the country’s 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,” the former batter remarked. “Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicise it.”

In the recent ICC 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 until the end of the 2027 events cycle.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025