Mumbai witnessed a dramatic protest on Sunday as women workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) staged a “sindoor protest” opposing India’s participation in the Asia Cup 2025 cricket match against Pakistan, scheduled to be played in Dubai.

The protest came a day after party chief Uddhav Thackeray called for women across Maharashtra to send sindoor from every household to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, symbolizing their objection to India playing against Pakistan.

Thackeray strongly criticized the central government, accusing it of mixing politics, business, and patriotism. “Our Prime Minister once said blood and water cannot flow together. Then how can blood and cricket flow together? How can war and cricket go hand in hand? They have turned patriotism into business — it is all about money. They are going ahead with the match because of the profits they will make,” he said.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also slammed the BJP government for allowing the match to take place, questioning whether the money earned from the game outweighed the lives lost in the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 citizens were killed.

“You do not have the power to refuse a cricket match against Pakistan, which asked for the religion of our citizens in Pahalgam before killing them. Is the money earned from this match more valuable than their lives?” Owaisi asked.

This will be the first international cricket clash between India and Pakistan since the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.

Despite growing demands from the opposition to boycott the game, the central government has granted permission for the Indian team to compete in all multi-nation tournaments, including this one.