Team India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak finally spoke about the management’s stance on the calls for Men in Blue to boycott the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 game against Pakistan in Dubai on September 14.

This will be the first time the archrivals clash since the Pahalgam terrorist attack that resulted in India launching Operation Sindoor on Pakistan and hitting several of their airbases.

Since those events, there has been a huge demand by Indian fans for the Men in Blue to not play Pakistan even in the ICC and ACC events, as the bilateral series is already banned.

The Indian government made its policy, which permits teams to compete against Pakistan in multilateral tournaments, known prior to the start of the eight-team tournament.

The BCCI has been under fire on social media for agreeing to play against Pakistan in spite of patriotic sentiments. When the Asia Cup schedule was announced, many people lost faith that India would also make a strong showing in multilateral competitions.

In the Asia Cup, India and Pakistan may face off three times. The two sides may face each other in the Super 4s and the championship, if they advance that far, after Sunday's group round match.

India's batting coach, Kotak, emphasized the need for his team to stay focused on the job at hand rather than hearing the outside noise.

“Once we are here to play, we are focused on playing cricket. I personally don't think there is anything on my mind apart from playing cricket. That is what we are focusing on. I think for players and us, once the BCCI says so and they are aligned with the government, we are here to prepare and play. It will be a competitive game. India versus Pakistan is always competitive, so we would rather focus on that,” Kotak told reporters in Dubai on Friday.  

India made a winning start to their Asia Cup 2025 tournament, defeating UAE in a dominating show in Dubai on September 10. India defeated UAE by 9 wickets after bowling them out for 57 runs.