Veteran Cricketer Kapil Dev said the decision to play or not to play Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup would be best if not decided by people like him and let the Union Government of India take a decision on the sensitive matter. The 60-year-old believes that whatever the government decides will be in the interest of the nation.
“To play or not to play is something which does not have to be decided by people like us. It has to be decided by the government. It’s better if we don’t give an opinion and leave it to the government and concerned people. Whatever they decide will be in the interest of the nation. We’ll do what they want,” he told ANI at an event in Pune on Friday.
Kapil’s remark comes at a time when several other cricketers strongly echoed the sentiments to boycott the June 16 World Cup face-off against Pakistan at the Old Trafford in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack, which killed more than 40 CRPF personnel in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14.
The Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Friday decided against taking any stand on the World Cup clash against Pakistan but urged the ICC and other nations to "sever ties" with countries from where "terrorism emanates".
The letter, sent by the Supreme Court-appointed CoA on behalf of BCCI to ICC, stated: “Most countries from which the members of the ICC hail (including the UK) have strongly condemned this terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with India.”