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Jason Holder saddened by India-Pakistan beef, makes sincere appeal: ‘When India didn’t collect Asia Cup trophy…’
Jason Holder made a call to players on both sides of the India-Pakistan divide to try and find some sort of common ground, for the benefit of cricket.
The conflict between India and Pakistan was the big story in cricket in 2025, as the political ramifications were felt right through to cricket, with the IPL and the Asia Cup both being affected. There battle between the BCCI and the PCB has been the relationship between the two nations in miniature, but given the influence the two boards hold over the cricket world, the impact was felt right down to individual players.
Jason Holder, a former West Indian captain and a player who has spent a good chunk of his career playing cricket in and against India and Pakistan, became one of the more outspoken current players to comment on the conflict, as he made an idealistic appeal to players and boards on both sides to try and bounce back in their relationship.
“Honestly, I don’t like this whole India-Pakistan beef,” said Holder on Grace Hayden’s podcast for Willow by Cricbuzz.
“This India-Pakistan beef which stems way beyond the cricket field is just sad. They are two powerhouses in world cricket, and to see how things have transpired… I saw India win the Asia Cup and didn’t go up and accept the trophy, I think it’s too much,” he continued, citing the dramatic scenes that followed the Asia Cup final, and the long saga surrounding the trophy presentation and PCB and ACC chief Mohsin Naqvi.
“These things shouldn’t be in our game, especially if we are ambassadors for the world. If we’re talking about world peace and making the world a better place, that’s not what you want to see from your idols and your inspirers,” Holder continued. “If you’re trying to inspire a generation and a world then you have got to try and find a way to come together.”
‘Maybe we can do it on an everyday level’
While the West Indian all-rounder’s take on it is certainly an optimistic one, he wanted to ensure that listeners knew he understood and was aware of the long and bloody history between the two countries that has informed the modern-day conflict. It came to a new peak with the Pahalgam terror attacks and Operation Sindoor in May 2025, but contains many decades of conflict.
“I could understand it being a massive thing off the cricket field and don’t get me wrong, I get it’s long years of history behind it. But I think if it is to change, it can start from our influential players and teams on the cricket field,” said Holder.
“Yes, that can be happening off the field, but I think a way to quieten it and deaden it is by India and Pakistan joining forces in the sport. I think that would be huge for the context of everything. If they can do it on the field, then the two countries could probably say look, it’s done on a sporting level, maybe we can do it on an everyday level, stop this fighting, stop this war between India and Pakistan,” he added.
Holder cites Didier Drogba example
Holder’s expectations of change were also inspired by the story of Didier Drogba, the former Chelsea FC and Ivory Coast striker who was at the forefront of the messaging to bring an end to the civil war in his home country, by using his platform to inspire change.
“ I remember Didier Drogba, who was one of my sporting heroes, he was the mastermind behind the Ivory Coast coming together and trying to plead to their nation to cease fire, stop the violence,” Holder explained.
“It’s one of those moments you see the power and influence in sportsmen and athletes and influential figures. I would love to see more of that from a cricketing standpoint between India and Pakistan,” he said, making a salient point regarding the influence and larger-than-life status that cricket players at the highest level hold in the cultural canvas of both countries.
‘I think it’s so wrong'
Ultimately, Holder’s disappointment stems from the fact that the conflict comes at the cost of lives and livelihoods, but also the one uniting factor that fans and players across the border and around the world share – the love for cricket itself.
“I think it’s so hard to be in a World Cup for example, and you have to shift games because you don’t want India and Pakistan to play at this place, or India can’t come to Pakistan when cricket is meant to be played in Pakistan. I think it’s so wrong,” stated the all-rounder.
In truth, Holder’s appeals are likely to fall on deaf years for the time being, with the tensions far too escalated between the two countries. However, Holder isn’t the first and nor will he be the last figure in international cricket to make these kinds of requests of his colleagues within the sport.
The hope remains that some sort of common ground and compromise can be reached to allow the two rivals to play on a less acrimonious playing field, and voices such as Holder’s will only add to each other and reach a critical mass that could make a tactile difference, at least in cricket, and maybe even beyond.
