Amid growing criticism over India’s decision to play against Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 following the tragic Pahalgam terror attack, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia has defended the move. He emphasized that the decision was made in the larger interest of India’s future sporting ambitions, including bids to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics.
We live in an era where money and politics have become more important than humanity and patriotism. In an interview, Saikia clarified that the Asia Cup is a multinational tournament, not a bilateral series, and skipping such events could severely damage India’s chances of hosting major global sporting events.
“We have decided to participate in the Asia Cup because it is a multinational competition. It is just like an Olympic, any FIFA tournament, AFC tournament, or International Athletics Tournament,” Devajit Saikia told.
“So we cannot boycott the multinational tournament because if we boycott this tournament, that will bring a lot of negativity for all our future endeavours of hosting any multinational tournament in the country,” he was quoted as saying.
“So therefore, as it is a multinational competition, we are participating because we do not have a direct call or direct decision whether to play or not to play.”
Further justifying the BCCI’s decision to play against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025, Devajit Saikia stated that India’s participation in global sporting events is crucial for its future hosting ambitions. He explained that if India opts out of major international tournaments like the AFC Asian Cup, FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Davis Cup, or Thomas Cup, it could negatively impact the country’s chances of winning bids to host prestigious events such as the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics in the 2030s. Saikia emphasized that consistent participation in multinational competitions is essential to strengthen India’s credibility as a future host nation.
“And if the Indian association is barred, suppose India decides not to play in an international athletics tournament, tomorrow the Indian Athletic Association will be barred or there will be fines,” he added.
