India-Pakistan match an insult to those killed in Pahalgam terror attack: victim's wife

KANPUR: Ahead of India's Asia Cup match against Pakistan on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the family of Shubham Dwivedi, a resident of Kanpur who lost his life in the Pahalgam terrorist attack, has protested the cricket match between India and Pakistan.

The Kanpur businessman who had got married in Feb was killed on Apr 22 when terrorists opened fire in the Baisaran Valley of Pahalgam, killing 26. He was on a family trip to Kashmir with his wife and 11 relatives. The group was scheduled to return to Kanpur on Apr 23. On Saturday, the family said that playing against Pakistan is an insult to those who lost their lives in the attack. Shubham's wife Aishanya said the match is against the nation.

"The Indian Cricket Control Board has forgotten my husband's sacrifice in just a few months," she added. She further said that the BCCI should not have accepted playing a match with Pakistan. "The BCCI seems to lack empathy for the 26 families and the soldiers who were martyred during Operation Sindoor; these things don't seem to matter to the BCCI. Perhaps it's because no one from their own families was affected. Another thing is, where are our cricketers? It's often said that cricketers have a sense of nationality, which is why cricket is considered almost like a national game in our country, even though our official national game is hockey," she said.

"However, except for one or two cricketers, no one has come forward to say that we shouldn't play against Pakistan. Cricketers should have taken a stand here. The BCCI doesn't have the authority to force you to play against Pakistan. Someone should take a stand, and people should protest that our team will not play against Pakistan," she said. "Sponsors are promoting it excessively, crossing all limits, showing that this is the first match between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor. It seems people have lost their sense, emotions have dried up, and they have become indifferent. Do you want the revenue generated by this match to be used by Pakistan for terrorism against India? I urge everyone to boycott this match and, if possible, not watch it so that their viewership does not increase," she said.

Shubham's father Sanjay Dwivedi said that playing cricket with the country whose terrorists shot their son after asking his religion is unfortunate. His uncle Manoj Kumar Dwivedi urged all citizens to boycott the match.