India vs Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 Boycott Call After Pahalgam Attack | Cricket News

Aishanya Dwivedi (L) makes a heartfelt appeal from the Indian team to boycott the Pakistan game.

(PC: ANI, PTI)

Aishanya Dwivedi, the widow of Shubham, who was one of the victims brutally killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, has appealed to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the men’s cricket team, the sponsors, and the public to boycott Sunday’s Asia Cup 2025 group stage clash against Pakistan.

Terrorists from Pakistan were behind the attack, killing 26 innocents. Shubham and Aishanya were sitting to get a bowl of noodles in the valley when a gunman approached them and shot the former dead. India conducted Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the attack, which quickly unfurled into severe cross-border firing between the two countries, resulting in many more deaths and injuries.

Criticising the BCCI for accepting the match and the team players for not taking a stand, Aishanya said Pakistan would use the money gained from the match only for ‘terrorism’ and for another attack on India.

“BCCI should not have accepted a match between India and Pakistan. I think BCCI is not sentimental towards those 26 families,” she told ANI.

“What are our cricketers doing? Cricketers are said to be nationalists. Except for 1-2 cricket players, nobody stepped forward to say that we should boycott the match against Pakistan. BCCI cannot make them play at gunpoint. They should take a stand for their country. But they are not doing it.  I would like to ask the sponsors and broadcasters if their nationality for those 26 families is finished? What will the revenue from the match be used for? Pakistan will use this just for terrorism. That is a terrorist nation. You will provide them with revenue and prepare them to attack us once again. I cannot understand this,” she added.

In an appeal to the audience, she said: “Don’t switch on your TVs. Don’t give them the numbers. Boycott this match.”

Officials from the BCCI and the team’s coaches and players have maintained the same language whenever they have been asked about the issue, saying that they are only following instructions because the Indian government has given its approval for the matches to go ahead.

There’s a good chance that this won’t be the only match India and Pakistan play this Asia Cup. If both teams manage to finish in the top-two of their group, they’ll play at least one more game in the Super-Four stage. In turn, if they end that stage as the best two teams they’ll meet for a third time in the final.