New Delhi [India], September 14 (ANI): Ahead of the high-profile India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, former cricketer and West Bengal Sports Minister Manoj Tiwary said that he will 'boycott' the game being played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The India national cricket team is taking on Pakistan for the first time in an international cricket match after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Ahead of the clash, there had been a widespread demand from the opposition to boycott the match. However, the Centre had issued no objection for the Indian team to play against Pakistan in any multi-nation tournament.

'It is a very unfortunate situation. The problem has been ongoing for years. From Pulwama to Pahalgam to Pathankot to all the numerous terrorist attacks. No Indian has forgotten this...You want to play the India vs Pakistan match in such a situation. I have never been anti-sports; I have been a Cricket player, and I am a Sports Minister. I had said that on a personal front, I am boycotting the India vs Pakistan match as well as the Asia Cup because I cannot watch this. It needs to be understood that this is just a sport; this is not life. We are comparing human lives to sports; this should never be done,' Tiwary said.

'Only the families of those who die in the line of duty while defending the nation and innocent civilians who are killed in terrorist attacks can understand this. So, I feel this should not have happened...' he added.

The India vs Pakistan rivalry has played out 13 times in the T20I format, with India leading 9-3. One of Pakistan's three wins came in the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai - their last victory over India in T20 cricket.

India beat Pakistan by six runs in New York the last time the two teams met at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Bumrah produced a magical spell to turn the match when Pakistan seemed like the clear favourites to pick up a victory.

On the Asia Cup stage, India and Pakistan have met 19 times across both ODI and T20I formats. India have won 10, Pakistan six and three matches were abandoned.

Squads:

India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.

Pakistan: Salman Ali Agha (C), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim. (ANI)