New Delhi: Union Sports Minister MS Gill on Friday said that the Indian cricket team should not tour Pakistan in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai.
"I have played cricket and am familiar with the spirit of the game. How is it possible for one team from Pakistan to come to Mumbai and indulge in mass slaughter and another team to go from here and play cricket there?" the Sports Minister bluntly said in New Delhi on Friday.
Gill said he was not in favour of the Indian team playing in Pakistan but it was up to the government to take a final decision.
The Sports Minister's strong comments came on a day when Pakistan Cricket Board's chairman Ejaz Butt is scheduled to meet International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and the Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI) officials at Chennai in a bid to salvage the series.
Indian Olympic Association President and MP Suresh Kalmadi, however, differed with Gill's views.
"Sporting ties are very necessary and should not be cut off from Pakistan. But whether to tour Pakistan at this time or not is a security issue," said Kalmadi.
Former Olympian Aslam Sher Khan, too, was of the opinion that sporting ties with Pakistan should continue.
"The Sports Minister should not make such a statement. When there are political and diplomatic contacts with Pakistan then why sporting ties should be cut with Pakistan? Touring to Pakistan should be decided on security issues," said Khan.
Meanwhile, BCCI Vice-President and MP Rajiv Shukla said the government will have to decide on the cricket tour.
"If the government feels that cricket team should not be going to Pakistan then the team will not go. The final decision rests with the Indian government. We respect the Sports Minister's statement. If he feels the condition in Pakistan is not conducive then we will not go. Seeing the present atmosphere and keeping in mind security concerns it may not be feasible to go for the tour," said Shukla.
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Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal reacted to Gill's comments saying that the External Affairs Ministry and the Sports Ministry will decide on India-Pakistan cricket series.
Indian players, too, have also voiced their concern on touring Pakistan.
Earlier, top players including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh expressed their unwillingness to tour Pakistan.
Even though the PCB has assured foolproof security but the Indians believe the threat during the tour would be severe and are unwilling to tour Pakistan in January because they fear for their security.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, too, has said that India should not tour Pakistan after the tragic events in Mumbai.
"I think under the present circumstance, when at the highest political and diplomatic level there has been a fallout because of what has happened, I think cricket would not be an exception," Gavaskar had told CNN-IBN on Wednesday when asked if cricketing ties between India and Pakistan should continue following the Mumbai terror attack last month.
India are to play three Tests, five One-Day Internationals and a Twenty20 game. The Test matches are at Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore while the ODIs are to be held at Faisalabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi.
The lone Twenty20 will be played in Karachi.
India has blamed Pakistan for the attack on Mumbai and said all the 10 terrorists were Pakistanis and trained by Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorists captured alive in the Mumbai terror attack, has revealed to the investigators that he along with the other members of his group were trained by LeT and sailed from Karachi to Mumbai.
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