Navjot Singh Sidhu compares beating Pakistan to washing off sins in Ganges

Former Indian cricketer and Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has recently expressed his excitement for the marquee clash between team India and Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy. He remarked that the intensity of the clash is certainly different than other matches. This comes as no surprise why most of the people rate the Indo-Pak clash so highly.

This is certainly in contradiction to the members of the current Indian team though. Recently, team India skipper Virat Kohli had noted that they are taking the match just as any other game. However, if Navjot Singh Sidhu is to be believed, the match certainly is at a different level. He wished the team all the best ahead of the big clash. He also went on to remark that beating Pakistan is always an honour.

“My best wishes are with the Indian team. It will be a great honour if team India wins the match against Pakistan,” quoted Navjot Singh Sidhu as per the quotes in the Deccan Chronicle.

Washing off sins

Speaking further on the same point, the former cricketer added that while playing Pakistan, the prestige and pride is at stake. And when that happens, beating Pakistan is equivalent to washing off the sins by taking a bath in the holy Ganges. The river Ganges holds a great significance in the Indian traditional culture. It is believed that taking a dip in the holy river can waive off all the sins and wrong doings. And hence, Sidhu made this analogy.

“Jahan desh ki saakh ka sawaal hota hai, wahan agar Pakistan se match jeet jaao toh aisa samjho Ganga naha liye,sare paap dhul jate hai (When the question is about nation’s prestige, then beating Pakistan would be like taking a bath in the holy Ganga and washing off your sins),” conceded the former Indian cricketer.