Suniel Shetty Defends BCCI Over IND Vs PAK Boycott Appeals: ‘Can’t Blame…’ | Cricket News

Actor Suniel Shetty has defended the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the men’s teams for agreeing to participate in the 2025 Asia Cup clash against Pakistan. Shetty, who’s also the father-in-law of KL Rahul, said that BCCI has to abide by the rules of being a world sporting body, while the players have the obligation to represent the country as sportsmen, leaving the onus on the public to watch the match or not.

The controversy has been brewing for months. After the Pahalgam attack in April and the ensuing cross-border firing between India and Pakistan, momentum built up over calls to boycott the match. Eventually, the BCCI didn’t heed to it, and the government also gave its green light to the game and all future multi-national games between the rivals. The team has diverted all questions, saying they are only following the authorities.

“It’s a world sporting body. They have to abide by those rules and regulations because there are a lot of other sports and a lot of athletes who are involved in them. As Indians, I think that is our personal call that we have to take, whether we want to see it, whether we don’t want to see it, whether we want to go or not go and that’s a call India has to take but you cannot blame cricketers for playing because they are sportsmen, they are expected to represent the country,” Shetty remarked, as quoted by The Times of India.

“I think that’s a call we have to take. If I’m not going to see it, I’m not going to see it. It’s for you to decide what each one of you wants to do. It’s not in BCCI’s hands. It’s a world sporting body, and you can’t blame anybody.”

Meanwhile, the families of some of the victims in the Pahalgam attack have made emotional calls to boycott the game. They say they feel hurt and upset by how quickly the sport has moved on from one of the most deadly terrorist attacks on the country which had clear links to Pakistan.