Sports should be the bridge between India and Pakistan

Sports should be the bridge between India and Pakistan

...says Unmukt Chand, captain of the U-19 Indian cricket team, emphasising that sports should be separate from politics

    The tension between India and Pakistan at the border has affected sports and cultural events involving the two nations. Unmukt Chand, captain of the under-19 Indian cricket team, which won the ICC World Cup last year, says that the current issues at the border are very sensitive but sports should be kept away from them. “Cricket and other games are like religion for the people of both the countries. There are a lot of emotions attached to sports. These are sensitive political issues and should be kept away from sports,” he says. Unmukt stresses on the importance of sports to better the ties between the two nations. “Instead, sports should be the bridge to improve the ties between both the countries,” he adds.
    Born and brought up in Delhi, the 19-year old boy is disappointed with the progress of the case of the Delhi gang-rape victim. “After the incident in Delhi, a lot of things have come to light. It’s great the way the youth has come forward to seek a solution to the problem. Rules should get stricter in the country,” he says.
    In 2012, he was involved in a controversy when his college — St Stephens College, Delhi — barred him from taking his second semester exams due to low attendance. Unmukt had at that time been playing for the country. He was cleared to take the exam after authorities of the University of Delhi intervened. “I just took my third semester
examination and am gearing up for the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy,” he says.

Unmukt Chand