India’s precision strikes on May 7 midnight invited celebratory and proud reactions from cricketers, including Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and India head coach Gautam Gambhir, among others. The targeted attacks in Pakistan and PoK struck nine terror camps.
Indian cricketers were in unison as they reacted to the Indian Army’s precision strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, destroying nine terror camps in the wee hours after the start of the day on May 7. ‘Operation Sindoor’, as it was labelled by the Indian Army, was retaliation for the brutal Pahalgam terror attacks, which killed 26 Indian tourists in the picturesque town of Kashmir. ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ was echoed in chorus from the players as India conducted its most comprehensive attack on Pakistan in recent years.
While Virender Sehwag quoted ‘Mahabharata’, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, India head coach Gautam Gambhir, Venkatesh Prasad, RP Singh and Varun Chakravarthy led reactions saluting the Indian armed forces while feeling proud of the country’s coordinated response following the attacks. Former India pacer and chief selector Chetan Sharma wrote that when it comes to security, India won’t shy away from responding like that while suggesting that this wasn’t just a retaliation but a message.
England cricketer Sam Billings, who is in Pakistan plying his trade for the Lahore Qalandars, hoped for de-escalation of the cross-border tensions, which is seeing India and Pakistan at loggerheads currently.
The operation was carried out at 1:28 AM on May 7 at the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s base Muridke, two banned organisations among nine territories in Pakistan and PoK. Intelligence reports suggested that there were at least 80 to 90 casualties, while Pakistan’s security chief’s official statement claimed that eight were killed, including three civilians, while more than 20 were injured, but later admitted that the number went up to 26.
The Indian Army released a brief video message on X (formerly Twitter) following the operation, declaring: “Justice is served.”
