Will abide by BCCI, govt’s decision on India-Pakistan WC clash: Kohli

Mumbai: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday said that his entire team would stand by whatever decision the Union Government and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) take on their 2019 ICC World Cup clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 16.

When asked about his take on India vs Pakistan match in the showpiece event, Kohli first paid his condolences to the families of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were martyred in recent Pulwama terror attack before vowing to respect whatever decision taken by the Indian government.

“Our sincere condolences to the families of CRPF soldiers who lost their lives in Pulwama Attack. We stand by what the nation wants to do and what the BCCI decides to do. We will go by what the government and the board decide, we will respect that,” Kohli said on the eve of his side’s first T20I of the two-match series against Australia in Visakhapatnam.

Earlier, former Indian opener Kapil Dev had also stated that it is better to leave it to the Union Government to decide whether the country should play against its arch-rivals Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup or not.

The 60-year-old had added that whatever the Indian government will decide, will be in the best interest of the nation.

The duo’s comments came after a demand from a huge section of the country to sever cricketing ties with Pakistan in the wake of a deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14, when at least 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)