MUMBAI/KOLKATA/HYDERABAD: Politics and the pulsating anger of Pahalgam and its aftermath put the fabled acrimony of an India-Pakistan cricket match in the shade on Sunday as the two sides took the field at the Asia Cup in Dubai.Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP traded bouncers in Maharashtra, with the former calling the match “an insult to the 26 victims in the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack” and the saffron camp accusing ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray and Co of “hypocrisy” by calling for a boycott of the match while maintaining an alliance with “pro-Pakistan” Congress.In Bengal, Trinamool Congress targeted two stumps with one delivery – India-Pakistan cricket on the sidelines of conflict and alleged “nepotism” at the top of the game’s administrative hierarchy. “Blood & water can’t flow together to Pakistan. But clearly blood & cricket can. Especially when Amit Shah’s ‘merit-only’ son’s fortunes depend on it. May the best team win,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra wrote on X.Hyderabad, home to some of India’s finest cricketers, saw AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi marking a long run-up to target PM Narendra Modi, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma and RSS over their alleged anti-minority actions while allegedly lacking the courage to choose “patriotism over profit” and have the India-Pakistan match cancelled.The slanging match in Maharashtra began with Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut slamming NCP chief and deputy CM Ajit Pawar over his remark that he would watch the match if he could wrap up work early. “Pakistani blood flows through his (Ajit Pawar’s) veins,” Raut said.“When a Maharashtra minister uses the language of an India-Pakistan match, it is not the language of a patriotic citizen. There was no one in your family among the 26 [victims]. Else, you would not have spoken like this.”
