India-Pak cricket match insult to national sentiment: Uddhav; Sena (UBT) announces ‘sindoor’ protest

Targeting the BJP-led Centre on the eve of the India-Pakistan Asia Cup cricket match, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said it is an insult to national sentiments as Indian soldiers are sacrificing their lives on the borders, and announced ‘sindoor’ protests across Maharashtra.

Traditional rivals India and Pakistan will face off in Dubai on Sunday in what will be the first match between the two sides since the escalation of the border conflict in May when India launched strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan after 26 tourists were killed in a dastardly attack in Pahalgam on April 22.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Thackeray said boycotting the match is an opportunity to convey to the world India’s stance on terrorism.

Targeting the BJP, he wondered whether the government is going to announce that Operation Sindoor has been stopped, and appealed to “deshbhakts” (patriots) not to watch the cricket contest as wounds of the Pahalgam terror attack are still fresh.

“This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?” Thackeray asked.

Slamming the Union government, Thackeray dubbed the cricket match a joke on patriotism. He said boycotting the match will send a strong signal to the world about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

“This was (undivided) Shiv Sena chief (Bal Thackeray’s stand). If blood and water cannot flow together, then how can cricket and blood (go) together?” he said, and alleged they (BJP) were doing trade in the name of patriotism.

Thackeray said the Sena (UBT) will stage protests against the match. He said the party’s women workers will collect sindoor (vermilion) and send it to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Referring to an old meeting between Bal Thackeray and Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad at Matoshree, the Thackeray family’s Mumbai residence, Uddhav said, “My father had told Javed Miandad that there will be no cricket till terror acts against India from Pakistan continue.” “Till the time terror does not stop, we shouldn’t maintain any relations with Pakistan,” the former Maharashtra chief minister asserted.

Questioning the Centre’s position on Pakistan, Thackeray said India’s foreign policy has proved to be weak, and it seems the country won’t get back Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

“You were saying Pakistan is spreading terror, and now you are playing cricket with the same country. Is Pakistan a terror state or not? Is it our enemy or not? Soldiers are getting martyred, and these people play cricket. This is not good,” Thackeray added.

Meanwhile, the rival Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena slammed Thackeray’s opposition to the India-Pakistan cricket match.

“UBT (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has no moral right to oppose the match. During the Congress era too, international cricket matches were played between India and Pakistan even when relations were tense,” spokesperson of Eknath Shinde-led Sena and MP Naresh Mhaske told a news conference.

Thackeray, who abandoned Hindutva for power and sings praises of Pakistan, cannot suddenly oppose such matches, the Thane MP said.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who heads the NCP, said the decision regarding the game has been taken at the appropriate forum but acknowledged there were different opinions on the issue.

“The country has a population of 140 crore. In such a vast country, there are bound to be differences of opinion over the cricket match. Some people may feel since relations between the two countries are strained, there should be no match. At the same time, others may support the game,” Pawar told reporters.

Operation Sindoor was initiated on May 7, 2025, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. It was a calibrated and targeted campaign by armed forces to dismantle the terror infrastructure across the Line of Control and deeper inside Pakistan.

At his press conference, Thackeray recalled the US’ boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics to protest the late 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In retaliation the Soviet Union didn’t join the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Thackeray’s son and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said almost five months after the cowardly attack in Pahalgam, nobody knows how the terrorists came in.

“Then Operation Sindoor happened. Then the Prime Minister said blood and water cannot flow together. The Defence Minister said, after a sudden Ceasefire, that Op Sindoor is Paused... not ended.

Pakistan boycotted the Asia Cup Hockey, in India. This too was a multilateral tournament.

But the BCCI is desperate to play Pakistan. Is the BCCI so strong that it can defy PM and defence minister? Does the @BCCI not have any shame? Any feelings for those who were killed in that massacre? Or for our Armed Forces?” Aaditya said in a post on X.

It’s sad the BJP has changed its ideology, but it is also true the same party will use the valour of armed forces in Bihar elections. It will mention Operation Sindoor politically, but not call off the match, Aaditya added.