Pune: “It is shameful to be playing a cricket match with Pakistan, which has the blood of Indians on its hands,” said Asawari Jagdale, the daughter of Santosh Jagdale, who was among the 26 tourists killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. She was referring to the much-touted India-Pakistan Asia Cup T-20 International Cricket match played in Dubai on Sunday.Asawari, who was at Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam with her parents when the terrorists gunned down her father and their family friend Kaustubh Gunbote, told TOI, “The match may excite many, but I feel a deep shame for those ready to play, organise, watch, and cheer — while forgetting the Pahalgam victims, our brave Indian soldiers, and countless people who sacrificed their lives for the country.”“True respect means standing with all those who sacrificed their lives and not entertaining those who sponsor terror,” she said, and added that just snapping trade ties and suspending the Indus Waters Treaty was not enough. “We should also stop playing cricket matches with Pakistan. It will further affect them. India should be boycotting Pakistan every which way possible,” she said.“To BCCI and our Indian cricket players — is it that you don’t feel bad because you haven’t lost your loved ones or any of your close ones? By playing, are you not directly or indirectly supporting terrorism?” Asawari said.The Asia Cup T-20I match between India and Pakistan comes a little over four months after the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s subsequent military action against terror infrastructure across the border.Karvenagar resident Santosh Jagdale (50) was an interior decorator, an insurance agent and an enterprising businessman, while Gunbote (58), a childhood friend of Santosh, was a resident of Kondhwa who successfully ran a chain of farsan shops in the city. Both families visited Kashmir together when the terror strike took place.Asawari said, “Allowing the match would amount to playing with the emotions of the victims’ families. It’s a shame for those who are ready to play and those who organise the game. Moreover, it is also shameful for those who will cheer this evening, forgetting the attack in Pahalgam, the sacrifices of our soldiers,” she said. “Pakistan has sponsored terror.”
