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Ashoke Pandit opposes India playing with Pakistan in the T20 World Cup: I am completely against this

By IANS | Updated: February 10, 2026 12:40 IST

Mumbai, Feb 10 IFTDA President Ashoke Pandit has expressed his displeasure at India playing the T-20 World Cup against ...

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Mumbai, Feb 10 IFTDA President Ashoke Pandit has expressed his displeasure at India playing the T-20 World Cup against Pakistan.

On Monday, Pakistan announced that it will play against India on February 15 in Colombo in the Group A match of the Men's T20 World Cup 2026. The announcement comes after the Government of Pakistan gave the necessary go-ahead.

Reacting to the update, Ashoke Pandit told IANS during an exclusive conversation that he is against India playing any sports with the neighbouring country, which is known to promote terrorism.

The filmmaker added that if India plays against Pakistan, it will be an insult to the emotions of the citizens of the country and our security forces who sacrifice their lives to keep the country safe.

During an exclusive conversation with IANS, Ashoke Pandit shared, "I am completely against this. India should never play against Pakistan. A country that is a terrorist nation and does not believe in peace and only grooms terrorists, to play with them for any reason, I do not think it is a good thing. This is against people's emotions, and against our security forces and their families, who sacrifice their lives for the nation."

Reiterating the sentiments, he concluded, "So, personally, I am against any kind of sports or business with Pakistan."

For those who do not know, a few days back, Pakistan announced that it would not be playing against India.

However, they later decided to reverse the decision and announcing the same on social media, a Tweet from the official handle of the Pakistan government read, "The Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Shehbaz Sharif has been formally briefed by the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mr. Mohsin Naqvi, regarding the outcomes of high-level deliberations held between the PCB, representatives of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) In view of the outcomes achieved in multilateral discussions as well as the request of friendly countries, the government of Pakistan hereby directs the Pakistan National Cricket Team to take the field on February 15 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup."

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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