There have been several calls to boycott the clash between India and Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, scheduled to take place on September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. On the social platforms, many have called for ignoring the contest due to the Pahalgam terror attack.

The BCCI secretary, Devajit Saikia, has hoped that the Suryakumar Yadav-led side will aim to give a befitting reply to the neighbours. He addressed that the Blue Brigade won’t be able to skip the multinational event because it would be against the spirit of the game.

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“For tomorrow's game, BCCI wishes all the best to the Indian cricket team. They will do their best to win the match so that it can be a befitting reply to all the incidents which we don't want to remember for long. India, although it has to play with a country with which we don't have a good relationship. But still, we have to play a multinational tournament as per the policy of the government of India.” Saikia expressed during an interaction on India Today.

Devajit Saikia comments on controversial India vs Pakistan clash of Men’s Asia Cup 2025

India is coming into this encounter on the back of their dominating victory against the United Arab Emirates, where they chased down the target of 58 runs in just 27 balls. Their spinner didn’t allow the opponent batters to free their arms at any stage of the fixture, and they will hope to repeat the same feat against the Salman Ali Agha-led side.

“Therefore, we cannot refuse to play a multinational tournament, which will be against the spirit of the game. We fully honor the spirit of the game and participate in any international or multinational tournament so that nothing takes place against the interests of our players and in our various sports disciplines.” Saikia shed light in the same discussion. 

On the eve of the clash, their assistant coach, Ryan Ten Doeschate, revealed head coach Gautam Gambhir’s message for the encounter. “We obviously are aware of the sentiments and the strong feelings. And Gauti's (Gambhir's nickname) message has just been very professional, about not worrying about things that are not in our control.” Doeschate concluded.