Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary shared his thoughts on whether or not the India-Pakistan match in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 tournament should go ahead, expressing his amazement that it is happening just after the Pahalgam terror tragedy.
The Asia Cup 2025, which will be played in T20 format, is set to begin in the UAE on September 9. India will kick off their campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against Pakistan is scheduled for September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. India will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
The India v Pakistan match has been a huge topic of debate amongst the fans and ex-cricketers, especially after Indian legends did not play their matches against Pakistan in the World Championships of Legends (WCL) recently due to tensions between both nations.
The reason was the Pahalgam terrorist attack by Pakistan-backed outfits, leading to the loss of the lives of over 20 tourists. In retaliation, India launched Operation Sindoor in May, where the Indian Armed Forces. Indian forces carried out targeted strikes against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of over 100 terrorists.
"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, there was a lot of talk that this time we would 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. 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...” Manoj Tiwary told ANI.
Manoj Tiwary also gave his views on the Indian squad for the Asia Cup. Shubman Gill was included over Yashasvi Jaiswal and named the vice-captain of the team under Suryakumar Yadav. Another surprise exclusion was that of Shreyas Iyer, who made 604 runs for PBKS in IPL 2025.
Jaiswal is not in the main squad but rather in the reserves group alongside all-rounder Washington Sundar, all-rounder Riyan Parag, pacer Prasidh Krishna, and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
"Two deserving candidates, Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, have not been able to make it to the team... If you see old videos of Gautam Gambhir, he had said that Yashasvi Jaiswal is such a player that we cannot think of keeping him out of T-20. Now that he himself is the coach, there is no place for Shreyas Iyer in the team. Shreyas Iyer's performance is the best if you look at the last year... It's eye-opening that he didn't get a place in the T20... The selection process should be made live so that sports lovers know who has been selected and why...” Tiwary concluded.
(ANI inputs)
