In deadly grief and anger for Pulwama terror attack that happened on February 14, veteran Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has strongly expressed that the Indian team should not play against long-time cricketing rivals Pakistan in their June 16 tie in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2019 at Manchester. 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in the Kashmir valley on February 14 in the Pulwama terror attack.
Earlier this week, Harbhajan became the first Indian cricketer to voice his opinion on the India-Pakistan clash following the ghastly incident. He feels that the Virat Kohli-led side are formidable enough to perform well in the World Cup tournament in England even if the team does not play the match against Pakistan in the round-robin fixture.
Harbhajan Singh told that "India should not play Pakistan in the world Cup. India are powerful enough to win the World Cup without having to play Pakistan,". He further said that "This is a difficult time. The attack that has happened, it was unbelievable and it's very wrong. Strict action will surely be taken by the government. When it comes to cricket, I don't think we should have any relations with them otherwise they will keep treating us like this."
Harbhajan added that India should not keep any relations or ties with Pakistan or play any sport with them. He wants the entire country to stand by the martyred soldiers. "I don't think we need to have any relations with Pakistan or play any cricket with them," he said. "I don't think India should play the World Cup match against Pakistan. Country comes first and we are all standing behind our country. Cricket or hockey or sports, it should be kept aside because this is a huge thing and repeatedly our soldiers are killed. We should stand with our country. Cricket or hockey or any sport, we don't need to play with them."
"We are too small to discuss what needs to be done - there are big people sitting in power who can take a call," he added. "What happens if we have to play Pakistan in the semi-final or final? There's plenty of time for June-July. The people in power will need what to do. But nobody can harm India. What happened in Pulwama is tragic. We are safe today only because of our defence forces."
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