Harbhajan Singh and Sunil Gavaskar's opinions differ on India-Pakistan clash in World Cup 2019

Whether to play Pakistan in the World Cup or not has divided the Indian cricketing fraternity into two halves. In the wake of the Pulwama attack that claimed the lives of 44 CRPF personnel, the majority wants India to boycott the Men in Green in the upcoming showpiece event. Harbhajan Singh is one such big name from the cricketing world who has made it clear that India should not play against Pakistan.

However, there are a few who want India to play against Pakistan for one reason or another and former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar is one of them. Both Harbhajan and Gavaskar once again gave different opinions on the matter.

“One mistake will not correct the other one. Since we played in 1999 does not mean we should go ahead and do it again. We need to stand with our government and our soldiers. This is the time to talk and have a discussion which is far, far bigger than the World Cup. World Cup is not everything. Our country comes first, our soldiers come first and our government comes first. Cricket is not our first priority, our priority is our nation,” Harbhajan told India Today.

Sunil Gavaskar, on the other hand, said India should look to play Pakistan and beat them in the competition. Talking about the points that the Men in Blue would lose in case of forfeiture, Gavaskar said the Men in Blue should beat Pakistan to dent their semifinal chances.

“If India decide not to play Pakistan in the World Cup, who wins? Pakistan will get two points. We have beaten them every time in World Cups. We can play them and beat them and make sure they don’t reach the semi-finals. Not playing bilateral series vs Pakistan hurts them.

“I know India are strong enough to qualify by not playing Pakistan. Not playing bilaterally hurts them. But it’s a World Cup, it’s two points…,” Gavaskar said.

No Pakistan in the World Cup?

Well, there is also a possibility that Pakistan might not be allowed in the tournament itself. According to latest media reports, the CoA and the BCCI have prepared a draft letter asking the ICC to ban Pakistan from participating in the upcoming World Cup. The Indians officials feel that Pakistan should not be allowed to play the tournament because of supporting terrorism.

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