Asia Cup 2025: 'Won't watch IND vs PAK match, value of human life more than sports' - Former India batter makes his stance clear

Published - 23 Aug 2025, 13:59 IST | Updated - 23 Aug 2025, 14:44 IST

Former India batter Manoj Tiwary has said that he won’t be tuning in to watch the forthcoming India versus Pakistan clash in the Asia Cup 2025. India are scheduled to face Pakistan on September 14 in Dubai in the continental competition, which will mark the first cricket encounter between the two teams after the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Ahead of the high-voltage fixture, there has been widespread backlash amongst Indian fans, who do not want to see their team engaging in any sporting affair with Pakistan. Recently, Tiwary also expressed disappointment over organising the impending fixture, questioning whether everyone has forgotten about the innocent civilians who lost their lives in Pahalgam earlier this year.

"I am a little surprised that this match is going to happen. After the Pahalgam attack, in which so many innocent civilians were killed, and then the war that followed, a lot of talk was going on that this time we will give a befitting reply. Despite this, after a few months, everything has been forgotten. I find it hard to believe that this match is happening, that the value of a human life can be zero," Tiwary was quoted as saying by India Today.

Furthermore, the former Bengal captain reiterated that human life should be more important than sports and stated that he won’t be watching the match at all.

"What do they want to achieve by playing with Pakistan? The value of a human life should be more than sports. There is no question of me watching the match at all," he added.

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The Indian government has clearly mentioned that India won't have bilateral sporting relations with Pakistan. However, this does not include meetings in multi-national events like World Cups or Olympics, where both countries partake under the jurisdiction of international governing bodies. These tournaments are held in neutral or third-party venues, ensuring no direct bilateral assignments and maintaining a politically neutral environment for competition.

India and Pakistan are placed in the same group A in the Asia Cup. Oman and the host UAE are also in the same group. Meanwhile, the other group comprises Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.