Jerusalem: National duty has taken precedence over love of cricket as two young Indian-origin brothers, both having represented Israel, have swapped their cricket attire for army uniforms to protect their country in the ongoing deadly armed conflict with Hamas.

Ronen and Shifron Waskar, brothers in their twenties, were busy putting batting skills of opponents to test in the Israeli Cricket League and playing a major role in their team's success but just when they were peaking the war erupted on July 8. "We had two important matches coming up which would have decided our standing in the league. I was worried about the team and missing out on cricket but had no doubts about what to do when trouble started brewing near the Jerusalem area," Ronen, the elder of the two brothers, told PTI.