‘Who will watch the World Cup in India if Pakistan doesn’t take part?’
The Asia Cup, which is set to take place in 2023, may instead be staged in the United Arab Emirates. According to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, who made the announcement earlier this month. PCB was incensed by Shah’s remark due to the timing of it and the change in location. Shah is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council. Ramiz Raja, the head of the PCB, has finally spoken out about the situation after addressing it in a recent interview with sharp words. Let us look at what Ramiz Raza warns about.
“Neutral venue for Asia Cup is not unprecedented and we have decided that we will not travel to Pakistan,” Shah had said last month after BCCI’s 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai. “It’s the govt that decides over the permission of our team visiting Pakistan so we won’t comment on that but for the 2023 Asia Cup. It is decided that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue.”
In addition to hosting the Asia Cup in 2019, Pakistan is also slated to host the Champions Trophy in 2025, according to the FTP. The Champions Trophy will be the first ICC event scheduled in Pakistan since the reinstatement of international cricket in that nation.
Ramiz fired shots at the BCCI and the Indian team in an interview with Urdu News. Making it clear that Babar Azam‘s team wouldn’t be visiting India for the World Cup in 2019. If the Rohit Sharma-led team didn’t come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.
Ramiz Raza warns
“If Pakistan doesn’t take part in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will watch it? We have a clear stand: If the Indian team comes here then we will go for the World Cup. If they don’t come then they can play the World Cup without us.
We will adopt an aggressive approach. Our team is showing performance. I’ve always said we need to improve the economy of Pakistan cricket. And that can only happen when we perform well. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, we beat India. We beat India in the T20 Asia Cup. In one year, the Pakistan cricket team defeated a billion dollar economy team twice,” he said.
