The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Najam Sethi has reportedly told BCCI secretary Jay Shah that his country wants to host the Asia Cup and if the tournament is moved out, Pakistan will not send its team for the men’s ODI World Cup in India.
Former Pakistan captain and batting legend Javed Miandad has slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for their rigid stance on not touring Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup tournament. BCCI secretary Jay Shah had made it clear last year that India will be touring Pakistan anytime soon while Pakistan are the hosts of the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 ahead of the ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup 2023 in India.
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“Maine toh pehle bhi kaha tha agar nahi aana to bhaad mein jaaye. Humein koi farak nahi padta. Yeh ICC ka kaam hai. Agar yeh cheez ICC control nahi kar sakti toh phir governing body ka, ICC ka koi kaam nahi hai. Saari country ke liye rule ek hona chahiye. Agar aisi teamein nahi aati, chahe jitni bhi strong ho. Koi theka nahi liya hua. India hoga, apne liye hoga, humare liye ya duniya ke liye nahi hai, Pakistan ke liye nahi hai. Aao khelo, khelte kyun nahi? Bhaagte hain (I have said this before as well, India can go to hell if they don’t want to come to Pakistan. It doesn’t bother us. It is ICC’s job to ensure that India come. If ICC can’t control it then what’s the use of being a governing body. It should have the same rules for every team, if they don’t fulfill commitments, however, strong they may be. India doesn’t run cricket. It may be a powerhouse but in its home, not for us, and not for the world. Come play in Pakistan, why don’t you play?),” said Miandad speaking to the reporters in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Najam Sethi has reportedly told BCCI secretary Jay Shah that his country wants to host the Asia Cup and if the tournament is moved out, Pakistan will not send its team for the men’s ODI World Cup in India.
Sethi’s comments are on similar lines as his predecessor Ramiz Raja, who had reiterated that Pakistan could boycott the 50-over World Cup in India this year if the Asia Cup issue between the two cricket boards wasn’t resolved. Pakistan was originally allotted the Asia Cup in September this year, but Shah, who is the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, had said in October last year that the Indian team will not tour Pakistan for the continental tournament due to diplomatic tensions.
The ACC is expected to shift the Asia Cup from Pakistan and decide on the alternate venue in March. However, a well-informed source in the PCB told news agency PTI that during the ACC executive board meeting held in Bahrain on Saturday, Sethi made Pakistan’s stance on the Asia Cup very clear to Shah that his country ‘will not forgo the hosting rights of either the Asia Cup or the Champions Trophy in 2025’.
“Sethi has made his stance very clear (to Shah) and he went to Bahrain after meeting Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif last Tuesday. Apparently, he has discussed the matter with the PM before going to Bahrain,” the source said.
“Sethi was clear that the Asia Cup is a multi-team event and the Pakistan government is willing to give security assurances to the Indian team. So, there is no reason for the BCCI to not send its team to Pakistan in September this year,” the source added.
“Sethi also made it clear that if the BCCI cannot get clearance from its government for the Asia Cup, Pakistan will also not travel to India for the (ODI) World Cup.”
The source added that Sethi told the meeting in Bahrain that if India didn’t come to Pakistan, then both countries could play their matches in the two multi-team event at offshore venues.
(with PTI inputs)
