On Thursday, September 11, the Supreme Court (SC) denied an urgent listing of a plea to cancel the India vs. Pakistan Asia Cup 2025 match, which was set for September 14 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
A bench made up of Justices Vijay Bishnoi and J.K. Maheshwari questioned the petition’s urgency. The petitioners’ attorney warned that if the plea is not addressed before to the game, it will become infructuous and asked that it be heard on Friday.
“What is the urgency? Leave it alone; it’s a match. What can be done for this Sunday’s match? Is this Sunday’s match? How can we address that? Leave it alone. The bench stated, as cited by Daily Mirror Online, “The match should continue.”
Urvashi Jain and three other law students filed the application, arguing that playing cricket against Pakistan in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor will send a message that is inimical to public sentiment and national honour.
“The purpose of international cricket is to demonstrate friendship and harmony. However, playing with Pakistan sent the opposite message—that while our soldiers are risking their lives, we are celebrating sports with the same country that is sheltering terrorists—after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, when our people perished and our soldiers risked everything,” the plea stated.
It further emphasised that the nation’s honour and dignity come before entertainment and that the match would offend the feelings of the relatives of those killed in the terrorist assault. Additionally, the petition asserted that participating in the match would be harmful to the nation’s interests and military personnel’s morale.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) functions as a “nation within a nation,” according to the appeal, and is indifferent to public sorrow, national issues, and disasters. It pleaded for the BCCI to be placed under the jurisdiction of the National Sports Board (NSB), emphasising that it is not a National Sports Federation (NSF) as defined by the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.
The petitioners stressed that the match should not be held because of current operations against Pakistani terror facilities and ongoing infiltration in Kashmir.
“Our armed forces have been carrying out day & night search operations fighting the infiltrators from Pakistan, our soldiers are sacrificing their lives and citizens too falling prey to the bullets of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists,” claimed the statement.
The India-Pakistan Asia Cup match proceeded as planned after the Supreme Court rejected the request for an immediate hearing in spite of these reservations.
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