``I am an emotional person especially when it comes to my country therefore I said what I felt. Majority of the jawans who are posted in Kargil did not want India to play Pakistan,'' he said.

Kapil was quick to point out the initiative to cancel the Sahara tour should have come from the Board. ``Players should not make such statements. The board should have done that,'' Kapil added.

Asked whether India could play Pakistan after the conflict has ended, Kapil replied, ``if the war ends, then I do think we can start playing once again, but definitely not at the present juncture.''

When asked if his stand had vindicated the Shiv Sena stand, as claimed bySena chief in an interview immediately after Kapil's outburst, Kapil said, ``at that time there was no war going on so there was no reason why we could not play. However, there is a war going on now, that is what at least I gathered when I went to Kargil.''

Kapil said that because soldiers were the real heroes, he thought somebody should speak out for them. ``If the Board wants to go ahead, they are free to do so, I only spoke my mind. These are feelings which I thought I should air.''

On the reported statements of Pakistani cricketers that Sachin would lose his popularity among Pakistani people, Kapil shot back, ``Why should we be bothered about what they are thinking? Sachin is loved and liked here, it is more than enough for us. We should think of our motherland. Our country comes first, our soldiers are what matters and the truth is they are dying there. We should not be bothered by what others say.''