Dharamshala: N.K. Kalia, the father of Kargil war hero Capt. Saurabh Kalia, on Wednesday said that his only concern was that the Pakistan cricket team should not play under the shadow of the Dharamsala War Memorial, which is close to the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium.
“My only concern was that the match shouldn’t have been played in the shadow of a martyr’s memorial. I am amply satisfied that the venue has been shifted to Kolkata, nation’s prestige come above everything,” Kalia told ANI.
“It would have been a dishonour to all the martyrs had this match been played in shadow of the martyr’s memorial,” he added.
The father of the Kargil war hero further said that India should not play with Pakistan in any event.
“Yet, I understand that it is an international event it has to be played so it has been shifted to Kolkata it is ok,” he added.
Ending weeks of uncertainty over the fate of the India-Pakistan clash in the World Twenty20, the International Cricket Council chief executive, David Richardson, today confirmed that the venue of the much-anticipated match on March 19 has been moved from Dharamsala to Kolkata due to security concerns.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had earlier expressed his aversion to the Indo-Pak match in his state after the ex-servicemen and families of slain army officials opposed to stage a match involving Pakistan in the wake of the recent Pathankot attacks. (ANI)