Published 17:45 IST, October 15th 2019
Nation first: All the times India cut sporting ties with Pakistan
India has not traveled to Pakistan for sporting tournaments following the 2008 Mumbai attacks due to political tensions between both the countries historically.
The Indian national tennis team on Tuesday expressed its reluctance to travel to Pakistan and play their much anticipated Davis Cup clash, which was scheduled to be held in November in the Pakistani capital city of Islamabad. In September this year, the All India Tennis Association (AITA) had announced the new tentative dates for the match, which were November 29-30 or November 30-December 1. According to tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi as per his interview with a leading media publication, the matter is is now in the hands of the AITA and the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
However, this is not the first time when India has refused to face Pakistan on their home soil in a sporting evet. We look at some of the other instances when this has occurred.
Indian cricket team refuses to tour Pakistan
The Indian men's cricket team was scheduled to tour of Pakistan from 13 January to 19 February 2009. However, the BCCI cancelled the tour due to political tensions having escalated between the two countries after the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Instead, it was Sri Lanka that filled in for India to tour Pakistan around the same period.
Emerging Nations Cup
Last year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) agreed to co-host the Asian Cricket Emerging Nations Cup with Sri Lanka after India refused to play in the country citing security concerns. India had decided to play all its matches in Sri Lanka with the final being scheduled in Colombo.
Asia Cup 2020
The next edition of the tournament could be played in the UAE once again after Pakistan was given the rights to host the continental event in 2020. Due to diplomatic tensions having risen between Pakistan and India following the Pulwama terror attacks in February 2019, India will call the shots to decide on the venue of the tournament in order to participate in the same otherwise it could run into major losses.
Updated 00:09 IST, October 16th 2019