'Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakte': Harbhajan Singh urges India to boycott Pakistan clash at Asia Cup

Harbhajan Singh urges India to boycott Pakistan clash at Asia Cup

The saying "water and blood can't flow together" has been revived by former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who has called on the Indian team to boycott the 2025 Asia Cup match against Pakistan. According to Harbhajan, cricket shouldn't matter until India's larger problems with Pakistan — the killing of soldiers and terrorist assaults against civilians — are resolved.

The backlash over India-Pakistan matches has intensified since the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir and the subsequent cross-border exchanges that claimed several Indian lives. Harbhajan, who played for the India Champions in the World Championship of Legends — a private T20 league for retired cricketers — was part of the team that forfeited two matches against Pakistan, allowing them to advance to the final.

But shortly after, it was revealed that India and Pakistan would play each other potentially thrice in the Asia Cup, with both teams pooled in the same group.

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“They need to understand what is important and what is not," Harbhajan told The Times of India. “This is as simple as that. For me, humare desh ka wo jawan jo sarhad par khada hua hai, unki families jo kayi baar unko nahi dekh paati hain, unki shahadat ho jaati hai, wo ghar wapas nahi laut paate hain — unki itni badi sacrifice hoti hai hum sabke liye. Toh ye to bahut chhoti si baat hai ki hum ek cricket match na chhod sakein [For me, the soldier who stands on the border, whose family often doesn’t get to see him, who sometimes sacrifices his life and never returns home — their sacrifice is so immense for all of us. Compared to that, this is a very small thing — that we can’t even skip playing one cricket match. It’s a very small matter]."

The tournament will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with India, the reigning champions, as the hosts. If the two boards, the BCCI and the PCB, decide to proceed with the game, it is unclear if the players will be able to withdraw from it individually. Harbhajan, however, has asked them to prioritize the nation.

“Our government has the same stance, ‘Khoon aur paani ek saath nahi beh sakte.’ (blood and sweat cannot co-exist). It cannot be the case that there’s fighting on the border, tensions between the two nations, and we go to play cricket. Until these big issues are resolved, cricket is a very small matter. The nation always comes first. Whatever our identity is, it’s because of this country. Whether you are a player, an actor, or anyone else — no one is bigger than the nation. The country comes first, and the duties we owe to it must be fulfilled. Cricket match na khelna bahut maamuli si cheez hai desh ke saamne [Not playing a cricket match is nothing compared to the importance of the nation]," the former spinner said.