Indian cricket fans are expected in big numbers at the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.
CNN  — 

The upsurge in violence between India and Pakistan is threatening to spill over into the sporting arena with fears surrounding their Cricket World Cup showdown in the UK this June.

India has already said it is considering boycotting the match after it claimed a Pakistan-based militant group carried out a suicide car bomb attack in Indian administered Kashmir, killing at least 37 Indian paramilitary soldiers on 14 February.

Last week, the Board of Control For Cricket in India, issued a statement in which it urged “the cricketing community to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates.”

CNN reached out to the Pakistan Cricket Board for comment but has yet to receive a response.

Speaking on Sunday, India captain Virat Kohli said the players would respect whatever decision was made on whether to play against Pakistan.

“The Indian team and the whole set-up was shocked with what happened and are really sad with what happened,” Kohli told reporters when asked about the February 14 car bomb attack.

“Our stand is simple: we stick by what the nation wants to do and what the BCCI decides to do.

“That is basically our opinion. Whatever the government and the board decide, we will go by that and we will respect that.”

The two nations have not held a bilateral Test match series since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, though they have faced each other in one-day series and international tournaments.

India has won six successive World Cup games against Pakistan, but suffered defeat by its neighbor in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.

Sachin Tendulkar, India’s greatest ever batsman, also said he would respect the decision made by the national team’s governing body.

“India has always come up trumps against Pakistan in the World Cup,” he tweeted. “Time to beat them once again. Would personally hate to give them two points and help them in the tournament.”

He added: “Having said that, for me India always comes first, so whatever my country decides, I will back that decision with all my heart.”

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Rising tension

Tensions between the two nations have ratcheted up since the February 14 suicide car bomb attack in Pulwama.

Kashmir, a largely mountainous region located between India and Pakistan, has had a tumultuous history.

The region has been bitterly contested by both India and Pakistan following the partition of the two countries in 1947, leading to three wars and numerous other skirmishes.

On Tuesday, India said it conducted air strikes on an alleged terrorist training camp across the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region, in a significant escalation of hostilities between the two nuclear armed powers.