The row over India’s decision not to send the cricket team to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy echoed in the political sphere, with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav asking the government to keep politics away from sports. Yadav, a former cricketer himself, asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Pakistan, then why can’t the team go across the border for the multi-nation tournament.

“There should be no politics in sports. They (Pakistan) should come to our country, and our players should also go there. What’s the problem with sports? It’s not like there’s a war happening in sports. Why shouldn’t India go to Pakistan? If PM Modi can go to Pakistan to eat biryani, that’s considered a good thing, but if the Indian team goes to Pakistan to play, it’s seen as wrong. This isn’t the right way to think,” Tejashwi, who has represented Jharkhand in state-level cricket, said.

The RJD leader’s reference was to PM Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore in 2015 to meet his then Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday.

India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy has thrown the tournament’s future into doubt. India has proposed a hybrid model for its matches, with Sri Lanka and the UAE being its preferred choice for a neutral venue. However, the Pakistan cricket board has dug in its heels. The ICC has called for an all-important board meeting on Friday to end the impasse.

However, Trinamool MP Kirti Azad said terror and dialogue cannot go together. “We will not play cricket with Pakistan… They will keep sending terrorists, and we will not play cricket with them,” he said.

The Indian cricket team last toured Pakistan in 2008, when they participated in the Asia Cup. The arch rivals last played a bilateral series in 2012-13 in India. However, a deterioration of political ties since then has seen the two sides face each other in ICC tournaments only.