Can India avoid playing Pakistan in Asia Cup following backlash?
The Asia Cup T20 cricket tournament will be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28, with India scheduled to play Pakistan on September 14.
The continental showpiece faced the threat of cancellation following the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan in May.
But the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) ended months of speculation by announcing last week that the tournament would go ahead in September, with India and Pakistan grouped alongside the UAE and Hong Kong.
The high-profile match has become the subject of a big debate between India's ruling party and opposition leaders in parliament.
Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and a five-time Member of Parliament who represents Hyderabad, tore into the Indian government for allowing the country's cricket team to play Pakistan after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
India blames Pakistan for the attack in the Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 civilians — an allegation strongly rejected by the Pakistani government.
What followed was a serious military escalation which saw both countries firing missiles and drones into each other's territories, raising fears of a full-scale war between the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours.
A ceasefire was announced on May 10, but India maintains that any terror attack on its soil in future would be treated as an act of war.
Stop cricket!
Now, in a scathing attack, Owaisi ridiculed the decision to play cricket with Pakistan after India suspended trade deals and a decades-long water treaty with its neighbours following the Pahalgam attack.
"When Pakistan's aircraft cannot come into our airspace, their boat cannot come into our water, trade has ended, how will you play a cricket match with Pakistan? When we are not giving water, we are stopping 80 per cent of Pakistan's water, saying that blood and water will not flow together, you will play a cricket match," the veteran MP said in the parliament.
"My conscience does not allow me to watch that match. Does your conscience allow you to ask the family members of the people who were killed in to watch India's cricket match with Pakistan?..."
India was scheduled to host this year's Asia Cup, but the simmering diplomatic tensions forced the Indian cricket board to bring the eight-team tournament to the UAE.
Among the people who welcomed the decision to play Pakistan in the Asia Cup is former India captain Sourav Ganguly.
'Terrorism must not happen, but sports must go on,' Ganguly, a former president of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) was quoted as saying by multiple Indian media outlets, including the Economic Times of India.
His words, though, failed to resonate with Aishnaya Dwivedi, an Indian woman who lost her husband in the Pahalgam attack.
'Terrorists have killed people, and are we going to play cricket with them (Pakistan)? It's been only three months (since the attack) and you forgot the pain,' Dwivedi slammed Ganguly during an interview with Indian news channel Republic.
The prevailing political environment in India also saw the cancellation of India's cricket match last week with Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends, a high-profile tournament featuring former international players in England.
Postponement on the cards?
So what will now be the fate of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup clash?
Nikhil Naz, an Indian sports journalist, believes India's government might reconsider their decision following the backlash.
'We still have about 45 days to go for the India-Pakistan match (in the Asia Cup). I think a lot can change in that much time,' Naz told the Khaleej Times.
'You have already seen the backlash on social media, and the opposition have reacted strongly, and by and large, I think most Indians are upset about this decision.
'So what might happen is that the government could reconsider their decision, there is a possibility of that, you know, that's my gut feeling. Even if India don't pull out of the tournament, they might want to postpone it. And the Asia Cup is a tournament that has been postponed in the past as well on many occasions.'
Naz, who was trolled heavily on social media for travelling to Pakistan during the ICC Champions Trophy in February this year, was surprised by the Indian government's decision to let the BCCI go ahead with the tournament.
'I know from my sources that the BCCI did consult with the (Indian) government before going ahead with it. That is a massive surprise for me because we have been told that we cannot consume Pakistani content —channels are blocked, I cannot see Pakistani tweets because social media handles are blocked,' he said.
'As a sports journalist, I do not have too much knowledge about geopolitics, but the messaging that came in the last two months is that we have nothing to do with Pakistan. And then for the government to give the BCCI the go-ahead (for the Asia Cup), it's a bit of a shocker for me. It took me some time to digest it.'
Why do they target cricket?
Samip Rajguru, another senior Indian sports journalist, is baffled by people who target cricket every time there is a conflict between India and Pakistan.
'We haven't played a bilateral cricket series with Pakistan for the last 10-15 years, but it hasn't solved any problem. My point is you can not solve political problems by not playing cricket,' Rajguru told the Khaleej Times.
'And I have always failed to understand why cricket has been targeted every time there is a problem between India and Pakistan. You know they have allowed the Pakistan teams to play the Junior World Cup and Asia Cup hockey tournaments in India. We are also playing Pakistan in volleyball. Then why not cricket? Why does everybody always have a problem with cricket only?'
Rajguru is also critical of the BCCI's decision to move the tournament to the UAE.
'Why did India agree to host the tournament in the UAE? They are the host and they should have done the tournament in India. My opinion is that India should not have taken the hosting rights to the UAE to accommodate Pakistan,' he said.
'Look, Moscow didn't take the 1980 Olympics to another country to accommodate the US (during the Cold War). Countries boycotted, but the Olympics in 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles) went ahead. So India should not have taken the tournament to the UAE.
'And as far as playing with Pakistan is concerned, my point is there will always be political problems in the world, but you cannot solve any problem by not playing sports.'
The bigger picture
Veteran Pakistan sports writer and broadcaster Shahid Hashmi says the India-Pakistan Asia Cup match could be the biggest headache for Modi's government after India announced their interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics.
'The political game in India (between the Modi's government and the opposition) over the India-Pakistan Asia Cup match will continue. But eventually I think, the Indian government will look at the bigger picture because India is seriously considering bidding for the 2036 Olympic Games,' Hashmi said.
'So now to avoid playing cricket with Pakistan in a multi-team tournament will be a big blow to India's image and Olympic ambitions.
'It's in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter that you need to play and host every IOC member nation. So if you want to bid for the 2036 Olympics, but don't want to play cricket with Pakistan in an international event, it will have serious consequences for India's ambitions to host the Olympics.'
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