Harbhajan calls for India to boycott WC match against Pakistan

NEW DELHI, Feb 19 (AFP): Spin star Harbhajan Singh has called for India to boycott their World Cup game against Pakistan in June in protest at a Kashmir attack which left more than 40 paramilitaries dead.

India has accused its arch-rival neighbour of supporting the attack, and amid nationwide calls for reprisals, Singh said: "There is no need for any relations with Pakistan, let alone cricket.

"Don't play the World Cup match with Pakistan on June 16 -- country comes first for all of us and we are all standing with our forces," added the 38-year-old, who played his last Test in 2015 but is still an Indian Premier League regular. "Pakistan has been promoting cross-border terrorism and this attack was unbelievably shocking," said Singh, whose 417 Test wickets are the second highest for an off-spinner. Pakistan has denied any role in the attack.

India, one of the World Cup favourites, would at the very least forfeit the match points if they boycott the group game to be played in Manchester. But Singh said this would not matter.

"I don't care about losing points as the Indian team is powerful enough to win the World Cup without playing Pakistan," Singh told the Aaj Tak Hindi news channel late Monday.