There is tension in the air ahead of India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) general secretary Jay Shah’s statement earlier this week has sent shockwaves around the cricketing world and the war of words has begun and it’s getting uglier day by day.
Jay Shah stated that India will not be visiting Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023 and has asked Asia Cricket Council to shift the matches to a neutral venue. Team India hasn’t visited Pakistan since 2008 and their relations become worse after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.
PCB on Tuesday then issued a statement saying that they are shocked by BCCI’s statement and has urged the Asian Cricket Council to have an emergency meeting to make things clear. And now Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has given his views on the ongoing saga and said India just can’t keep on dictating the cricketing matters anymore.
Wasim Akram also feels communication between India and Pakistan
“Badi zabardast statement di hai cricket board ne. (It was a brilliant statement from our cricket board). India can’t dictate how Pakistan play their cricket. Pakistan have started hosting teams after 10-15 years now. I’m an ex-cricketer, and sportsperson, I don’t know what’s happening on the political front. But communication is important,” Akram said on A Sports.
“Agar aapko kehna hi tha Jay Shah sahab, toh aap kam se kam hamaare chairman ko phone karte, meeting bithaate Asian Council ki. Aap apna idea dete, uspe discussion hoti. (If Jay Shah had to say something, he should have called the PCB chairman on phone, an Asian Cricket Council meeting should’ve been there). Pakistan were awarded the Asia Cup. That’s not fair,” he added.
There have also been reports stating that Pakistan are now thinking of withdrawing its cricket team from participating in the ODI World Cup which is scheduled to take place in October 2023.
Waqar Younis, Pakistan’s legendary bowling legend, also said earlier that India wanted to damage their relationship with Pakistan even further, adding that a country’s pride is more important than the game itself.
However, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Rohit and Co. will take on Pakistan in their ICC T20 World Cup 2022 opener on Sunday. Team India will be hoping for a much better showing Down Under after a poor show in last year’s T20 World Cup.
