CoA Chief Vinod Rai Reveals Government Policy On India- Pakistan Games

The Pulwama attack months ahead of the World Cup raised speculations of boycotting Pakistan in the global event. However, BCCI decided not to walk on that road and instead, urged International Cricket Council (ICC) to isolate Pakistan. And now that the episode is over, CoA chief Vinod Rai has opened up on the same.

The February 14 attack in Pulwama reportedly by infiltrants from the other side of the border garnered a strong reaction to boycott Pakistan in every front. Similarly, many including former India cricketer BJP member Gautam Gambhir urged BCCI to boycott Pakistan in the World Cup.

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But BCCI, sensing that it will only hurt them, wrote to the international requesting them to isolate Pakistan from any global events. Explaining the rationale behind that letter, Vinod Rai said that BCCI had to react to the common sentiment and take a stand.

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“Now, India was slated to play Pakistan on June 16… There was a rhetoric built up over here that India should refuse to play with Pakistan. People were saying it, the media was reporting it. The media was not cooking it up. The media reports, picks up news from the ground,” Rai told Indian Express.

“If we don’t play Pakistan (in the World Cup), we lose one point, two points, and that doesn’t matter. But suppose Pakistan comes up in the semi-final and we withdraw. Isn’t that shooting yourself in the foot? We would be closing avenues for ourselves. Which, I thought, was an incorrect move. So I said, rather than shooting ourselves in the foot, let’s isolate them,” he further added.

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Notably, India had inflicted a convincing victory over Pakistan at a jam-packed Manchester Stadium in Manchester. Vinod Rai also spoke about the India-Pakistan cricketing relations. He said that they can’t play each other in their own territory but can play on a neutral venue.

“On playing Pakistan, I think there is a government policy…that you can play on neutral territory, and not on each other’s… We are very clear in our minds that on neutral territory we will play any country.” Rai concluded.

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