Asia Cup 2018: There Can't be Conditional Bans in Sports - Gautam Gambhir on India vs Pakistan

Gone are those days when the fans used to remember the dates of the matches between India and Pakistan. However, of late, it went for the toss-up, as the political tensions between the countries saw them cutting down their bilateral ties. Meanwhile, it didn’t serve well for Gautam Gambhir.

The stylish southpaw quoted he didn’t understand the logic behind playing Pakistan in the ICC and Asia events but not in the bilateral event. He feels sport doesn’t have any such kind of bans to play in the major tournaments and not in the bilateral series.

BCCI and Government should take the decision – Gautam Gambhir

The veteran India opening batsman quoted the government and BCCI should take a call on the future of bilateral series between the arch-rivals. He feels either India should play all forms of cricket against the Pakistani team or should evade everywhere.

Gambhir opines there will be no conditional bans in the sports which allow the teams to play under ICC stamps and not in the bilateral series. Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket is eager to play the Indian team in all forms of the games.

”If you want to ban someone from playing, you should ban them from playing every form of cricket, whether it’s Asia Cup or ICC events. You can’t have conditional bans in sports. You can’t say we won’t play bilateral series but we can’t do anything about ICC events and Asia Cup,” Gautam Gambhir said to Times of India.

”If you want to play Pakistan in Asia Cup, why don’t you play bilateral series as well? If you don’t want to play Pakistan in bilateral series, then don’t play them in Asia Cup and in ICC events either. That is a decision that the BCCI and the Governmenneedds to take,” he added.

I don’t get too emotional for India vs Pakistan – Gautam Gambhir

The southpaw went on to say he is looking forward for a quality game between the arch-rivals in Asia Cup 2018 but not connected emotionally; he wants India to win every game irrespective of the opposition team.

“From the game’s point of view I am looking forward to it (India vs Pakistan Asia Cup group match), but I don’t get too emotional about the fact that it’s a match vs Pakistan. Ultimately, it’s a game of cricket that India wants to win. Whether it’s UAE, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. It’s another game of cricket.

”People do think it’s a big thing, India playing Pakistan because we don’t play them often and there are a lot of emotions involved in it, but as a sportsman, you don’t go into the game thinking it’s Pakistan, so we have to beat them. You want to beat every opposition possible because it’s a matter of pride for your country. I think it will be a good game because Pakistan is a decent side,” he inferred.

However, as Gautam Gambhir said, the clash between India and Pakistan in the UAE would be an exciting contest, as both teams got enough potential to win the game in Asia Cup 2018.