India is all set to clash with Pakistan on October 14 in the World Cup 2023 tournament. As the Pakistani players arrived in Ahmedabad to play at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the city, they were received warmly by girls welcoming them with garba and garlands.
It has not gone down well with most of the Indians who think that the players should not have been received with such fanfare. Besides, they believe that there should not be any match with Pakistan and India should curtail all ties.
Although as the host it was the country’s duty to usher them in properly, netizens believe that the grand welcome was something that should not have been given to the players from neighbouring Pakistan that has been sending terrorists to India and killing hundreds of innocent people.
People are arguing as to why these players should receive such a good welcome when on the borders the soldiers are dying to protect India from the regular attacks from Pakistan and its terrorists.
Cricket bosses are playing their games, Bollywood continues to support Pakistani artists directly or indirectly and it is left only for the Indian soldiers to protect and die for the nation which is a highly unfair approach, rued netizens.
That has ultimately resulted in “Shame on BCCI” trend on social media with most of the Indians badly thrashing the BCCI for 'not being sensitive' enough towards the feelings of his countrymen.
What is more disappointing is that BCCI is trying to milk more money through this match as India vs Pakistan matches always attract a lot of hype.
And to take advantage of the situation in a better way, BCCI has also organised a musical concert of big Bollywood singers like Sukhwinder Singh, Arijit Singh, and Shankar Mahadevan. Leading fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar has said that India vs Pakistan is just one match and there is more to the World Cup than this game. Hence, it was not necessary to give this match as well as the players so much importance as if it were the highlight of the World Cup.
Many people have called the entire episode just a joke and said that it is surprising that the opening match of the World Cup did not have any ceremony whereas there is a big concert just before the India vs Pakistan match.
There are many Indians who are also irked by this gesture of BCCI and and have called for a complete boycott of this match to show the true spirit of patriotism.