'Agar India nahin khelega toh...’: Pahalgam victim's family says India playing Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025 is okay

For the Udhwani family in Jaipur, the wounds of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack are still raw. Yet, even as they mourn the loss of 29-year-old Niraj Udhwani, they have made it clear that India’s decision to face Pakistan in the Asia Cup match in Dubai on Sunday should not be seen through the lens of that tragedy.

Niraj, who worked as a finance manager in Dubai, was holidaying in Kashmir with his wife Aayushi when militants opened fire on tourists in Pahalgam, killing 26 people. He had travelled to Shimla earlier that month for a wedding before heading to the Valley.

His family, however, told The Indian Express in an interview that cricket and terror should not be equated.

Bhagwan Das Udhwani, younger brother of Niraj’s late father Pradeep, dismissed calls for linking the two. “Woh khel ki bhavna hai, woh alag cheez hai, ye cheez alag hai. Usmein is baat ko tuul dena nahi chahiye (It’s the spirit of the game. This is a different thing and that [the Pahalgam attack] is a different thing. One should not equate the two),” he told the publication.

Another uncle, Prakash Udhwani, pointed to the international nature of the tournament. “Pahalgam was an India–Pakistan issue. But the match is of an international level, where other countries are also involved since it is the Asia Cup. Agar India nahi khelega toh naam kharab hoga, bahar ho jaayega (If India doesn’t play, then its name will be tarnished and it will be out of the tournament).”

He went further, saying, “Pakistan is in Asia just like other countries. Match toh karna chahiye tha, koi dikkat nahi hai (It was right for the match to have taken place, there is no issue). We know India always defeats Pakistan, and Pakistan was humiliated (in the match), but that’s different. Boycotts, etc, are just gimmicks. National and international-level matters are separate. Uss hisab se match hua hai toh theek hua hai (In that context, it is fine that the match happened).”

India won the match by seven wickets. Former sports minister and BJP MP Anurag Thakur also remarked to ANI that the fixture went ahead only because it was part of a multinational ICC event.

Niraj had married Aayushi in February 2023. After his death, relatives said, she has since returned to Dubai. A student of the Indian High School in Dubai who later pursued his higher studies in India, Niraj went back to the UAE to build his career and was employed with Cognita Schools at the time of his death.