Asia Cup 2025 India vs Pakistan - Raveena Tandon hopes men in blue to wear black bands: 'A minutes silence for the fallen'

The India vs Pakistan match for the Asia Cup 2025 will start on Sunday at 8:00 pm IST. Hours before the much-awaited clash at the Dubai International Stadium, actress Raveena Tandon shared her hopes for Team India. The high-voltage game between the two arch-rivals is taking place amidst huge backlash from cricket lovers, many of whom wanted the match to be cancelled due to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Raveena Tandon’s message for Team India

Just before the match, Raveena revealed that the Indian players would wear black bands to show solidarity with the victims of the horrific attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking to X, she wrote, “So ok the match is on. I hope our team plays with black bands on and takes a knee . Before taking victory.”

In her Instagram stories, she shared an article about why BCCI cannot say no to a match. Sharing her screengrab, she wrote, “Hope the team wears black bands and takes a knee. A minutes silence for the fallen. And then take a victory. @indiancricketteam #bcci.”

Suniel Shetty’s reaction

Shetty also weighed in on the controversy, saying that cricketers should not be blamed for participating in the match, ''You cannot blame cricketers for playing because they are sportsmen; they are expected to represent the country. I think that's a call we have to take. If I'm not going to see it, I'm not going to see it. It's for you to decide what each one of you wants to do. It's not in BCCI's hands. It's a world sporting body and you can't blame anybody,” Shetty shared, via HT.

Why can't BCCI boycott the match?

Despite the backlash, the BCCI decided to go ahead with the scheduled plan. The reason is Indian government policy, which clearly states that India will not boycott Pakistan in multilateral tournaments. The match will be played at the Dubai International Stadium, starting from 8:00 PM IST today.