Misbah-ul-Haq: “Politics, in my view, is a separate subject and should have nothing to do with sports”

Image courtesy of: Pakistan Super League

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has called for politics and cricket to remain separate in light of the ongoing feud between India and Pakistan.

Misbah’s comments come after the International Cricket Council (ICC) is understood to have rejected the BCCI’s proposal for member nations to “sever” ties with countries that harbor terrorists and are plagued with terrorism.

The BCCI submitted the proposal, in the form of a letter, after the Pulwama terror attack, where more than 40 Indian security personnel were killed in a suicide bombing.

While the terror attack has put India and Pakistan’s relationship on a knife-edge, Misbah urged the national teams of both countries to not let politics have an adverse impact on the game.

“Politics, in my view, is a separate subject and should have nothing to do with sports,” he told PakPassion. “There is no connection between both of these ideas. When you enter a sports ground, you compete fairly and in a healthy atmosphere against your adversaries and test your skills against the opponents in good spirit.

“As a sportsman, you are expected to perform at your best and entertain the spectators which is what they expect of you, and really there is no question of bringing any notion of politics in sports.”

India and Pakistan are scheduled to go head to head at the World Cup, with their highly-anticipated clash taking place on June 16 in Manchester.