Pahalgam terror attack | '...not with bats and balls': Virat Kohli's U-19 teammate's stern message to BCCI on India-Pakistan cricket

Shreevats Goswami, Indian Army personnel stand guard as they speak with tourists near Pahalgam (Pic: PTI/AFP)

In a strongly-worded post, former India cricketer and Virat Kohli's U-19 teammate Shreevats Goswami demanded an end to all sporting ties with Pakistan after the horrific Pahalgam terror attack, that left at least 26 killed and several others injured.

Terrorists opened fire at a prime tourist location in a scenic meadow in south Kashmir, about 30 miles southeast of Srinagar on Tuesday. The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, marking one of the worst attacks in the region in recent years.

"And this is exactly why I say - you don't play cricket with Pakistan. Not now. Not ever. When BCCI or the government refused to send India to the Champions Trophy in Pakistan, some had the audacity to say, 'Oh, but sport should rise above politics'," Goswami wrote.

"...murdering innocent Indians seems to be Pakistan's national sport and India should respond with zero tolerance and not with bats and balls," he added.

While India has not played bilateral cricket with Pakistan since 2012-13, and the BCCI declined to send its team for the Champions Trophy earlier this year, other Indian teams have continued to travel to Pakistan for international events.

Goswami, who had recently visited Pahalgam, said he had sensed hope and peace returning to the valley.

"And now... this bloodshed again. It breaks something inside you. It makes you question how many more times we're expected to stay silent, stay 'sporting', while our people die. No more. Not this time," he added.