Indian former cricketer, Kapil Dev, says if Pakistan needs money then it should stop activities at the border. Kapil Dev dismissed the idea of former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar to hold the Indo-Pak series to raise collective funds to fight coronavirus in both the countries.
Indian cricketer in his sour comments indirectly accused Pakistan of provoking violence and bloodshed at the border. Indian and Pakistani forces frequently engage in border skirmishes at LOC Kashmir. The ceasefire violations at LOC have mounted in recent months. Both the states report armed and civilian casualties in exchange of fire at LOC.
Akhtar's proposal of an India-Pakistan series to raises funds for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in both countries had attracted criticism from big names like Kapil Dev. https://t.co/YUDJdJhadK
— News18 (@CNNnews18) April 27, 2020
Hence, Kapil Dev mud-sling Pakistan for damaging peace and inciting hostility at the border. He said, “You could be emotional and say that yes, India and Pakistan should play matches. Playing matches is not a priority at the moment. If you need the money then you should stop the activities at the border.”
Adding that if Pakistan needs money then it should stop spending money on the purported ‘activities at the border’ and spend it on building hospitals and schools. Kapil Dev did not mention the specific ‘activities at the border’ in his statement.
He added that India is not short of funds to fight coronavirus. “If we need money than we have so many religious organizations which should come forward. It is their responsibility. We offer so much money when we visit the religious shrines, so they should help the government,” added Kapil Dev.
Kapil Dev added that he is not concerned about cricket at the moment but about children who are unable to go to schools during this lockdown.
“I am looking at the larger picture. Do you think cricket is the only issue we can talk about? I am rather worried about the children who are not being able to go to schools and colleges because that is our young generation. So, I want schools to reopen first. Cricket, football will happen eventually,” he added.
What Shoaib Akhtar said?
Earlier, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar for a friendly three-match ODI series between India and Pakistan for raising funds to fight pandemic coronavirus.
Shoaib Akhtar asserted that both the countries should come together to fight the pandemic that is risking the lives of millions of people on both sides of the border.
#KapilDev reiterated he is not in favour of a bilateral series between arch-rivals India and Pakistan to raise funds to deal with the pandemic as suggested by former Pakistan speedster #ShoaibAkhtarhttps://t.co/XUhLgHVRpw
— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) April 25, 2020
“You never know. The whole world will tune into it, so much money can be raised to deal with this crisis. In difficult times, the character of the nation comes forward. If India can make 10,000 ventilators for us, Pakistan will remember this gesture forever. But we can only propose the matches. The rest is up to the authorities (to decide),” he said.
Read more: Indians laugh at Shoaib Akhtar’s request for help for Pakistan
Former cricketer Kapil Dev rejected the idea of a televised cricket series between the two countries for fundraising, adding that India has enough money to fight with the pandemic.
Indian social media users mocked Shoaib Akhtar after Kapil Dev discarded his idea. Meanwhile, they also laughed at him for asking 10,000 ventilators from India for Pakistan and posted obnoxious comments vilifying Pakistan as a terrorist country.
Saqlain Mushtaq also reacted to rude comments by Kapil Dev. He said cricketers are seen as heroes. Their job is to do good. Winning or losing is part of the game, cricket is not a war.
“To say that Pakistan’s cricket will suffer because of not playing with India which is not the right way to look at this. The bigger picture is that the game should be promoted on both sides. And if we do play, there is a possibility of improvement in relations,” he added.
He added that ICC should definitely look into this matter because Indo-Pak series is much bigger than the Ashes series.