Former Indian captain and one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game, Sachin Tendulkar has spoken out on the possibility of India forfeiting their World Cup clash against Pakistan in protest of the recent Pulwama terror attack in which 40 soldiers were martyred.

Tendulkar agreed with the view of Sunil Gavaskar, who said India must play against Pakistan and beat them convincingly instead of conceding the two points which will only help the arch-rivals.

"India has always come up trumps against Pakistan in the World Cup. Time to beat them once again. Would personally hate to give them two points and help them in the tournament," said Tendulkar. 

"Having said that, for me India always comes first, so whatever my country decides, I will back that decision with all my heart," he added.

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been vocal about the need to cut off all cricketing ties with Pakistan, including at the World Cup.

CoA chief, Vinod Rai on Friday (February 21) confirmed that BCCI will write a letter to ICC on the Pakistan issue but with more than three months to go for the June 16 clash, the decision to play or not will be taken much later in consultation with the government.

(With PTI inputs)