We Should Settle This Face To Face: Yuzvendra Chahal After Pulwama Attack

With bilateral relation between India and Pakistan further deteriorating in the wake of the Pulwama attack, star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has called for a strict and a befitting reply to Pakistan.

Pakistan’s chances of resuming bilateral ties with India has taken a further blow after the ghastly attack. On Thursday, a suicide bomber from the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 personnel and leaving many critically wounded. The bus was on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Lethpora town, about 30 km from Srinagar when the attack took place. The entire nation is in a state of shock as well as furious following the gruesome attack.

There are now calls to boycott Pakistan from every sector and cricket has not remained far behind. On Sunday, IMG-Reliance pulled out of its deal to produce television coverage of the ongoing Pakistan Super League worldwide.  Before that, DSport, which was broadcasting the game in India, had also stopped the coverage. In other show of protests, Cricket Club of India had covered the portrait of former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan in its restaurant. On Sunday, the PCA stadium in Mohali had removed the pictures of the Pakistani players.

There are now also calls to boycott Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup. The idea has also found some support from the big names which has put a big question mark over the game. And just like many Yuzvendra Chahal is also clueless over whether the game will go ahead on June 16 in Manchester. However, the leg-spinner made it clear that Pakistan need a strong reply for the thousands and lakhs of lives that have been lost due to cross border terrorism.

“The decision to play the World Cup match against Pakistan has to be taken by the BCCI and the government. One or two players cannot decide but I think it is high time and we need to take strong action against the perpetrators of terrorism,” Yuzvendra Chahal told Sports Tak.

“This should settle once and for all. We can’t tolerate it any longer. Every three months we get to hear about our jawans losing their lives to terrorism and we can’t keep waiting for things to happen. We have to make things happen and we should settle this face to face, even if that means aar paar ki ladaai (fight on the battlefield),” added the 28-year-old.