Mumbai:
Cricket matches between India and Pakistan are not merely sporting events and are seen as a nation engaging with another, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has said, stressing how politics has crept into sports involving the two cricketing rivals.
Cricket is influencing politics, and that's why people with political connections are running the cricket administration, the four-time parliamentarian further said at Mumbai LitFest.
Tharoor had previously opposed Indian and Pakistani players not shaking hands during cricket matches in the backdrop of political tensions between the two countries. Reiterating his point, the MP said, "I had written about the policy of no handshakes and why it makes no sense and got into trouble for it."
Keeping cricket out of politics and politics out of cricket has not happened, the Thiruvananthapuram MP added.
He pointed out that leaders earlier used cricket to warm up ties between countries. But it doesn't happen anymore because we don't play each other anymore, he said, adding that whenever India plays cricket with Pakistan, politics comes up and matches are seen as a country engaging with another.
Read: 'India Shook Hands With Pakistan During Kargil War': Shashi Tharoor
Indian players had refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts in the Asia Cup and other global cricketing events since the Pahalgam terror attack that was launched from the soil of Pakistan. The move was seen as a show of solidarity with the Indian armed forces that had launched Operation Sindoor to avenge the April 2025 massacre.
Tharoor had earlier criticised the decision and called for the spirit of the game to be kept away from political and military issues. He had also pointed out that even during the Kargil War in 1999, India had played a match with Pakistan in England.
The BJP had then sided with the policy of no-handshake and accused the Congress of having "love for Pakistan" in its DNA.