India, Sept. 25 -- Guwahati: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that sports should be kept separate from politics and military issues.
He was commenting on the incident where Indian cricketers refused to shake hands with Pakistani players after their recent match in the T20 Asia Cup.
In an interview with ANI, Tharoor said that if India felt strongly against Pakistan, the match should not have been played. "If we had strong objections, we shouldn't have played," he said. However, he added, "If we play, we should do so in the spirit of the game, including shaking hands."
Tharoor also recalled the 1999 World Cup during the Kargil War, when Indian soldiers were fighting while the Indian cricket team played Pakistan.
"Even then, we...