The relationship between the cricket boards of India and Pakistan has turned bitter since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided not to send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup this year. Both neighbouring nations have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 and have only competed in major ICC and ACC events.
Now that Pakistan has the hosting right for the Asia Cup 2023, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said the decision on India’s participation is on the central government.
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At the Asian Cricket Council meet in Bahrain, no decision was found on the host for the Asia Cup.
Amid the controversy, former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad called out the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take strict action BCCI. While speaking to Pakistani media at a public event, Miandad shelled out a stern remark saying, “India can go to hell if they refuse to come to Pakistan to play cricket.”
According to the ex-Pakistan captain, his country will not take any responsibility for India and will only focus on hosting the tournament. “Pakistan has always had my support. Furthermore, I don’t spare India whenever an issue arises. However, we must also consider our own contributions. And for it, we ought to fight. We don’t give a damn since we get to host our cricket,” Miandad added.
“There is no point in the regulating body if ICC cannot handle this. For each squad, the same rules must be put into place. Teams like this should be blacklisted if they don’t attend,” said the 65-year-old.
Miandad noted in the end, “If they come here and lose to us, it causes difficulties for them. The native population finds it intolerable. It has always been such. They used to refrain from playing during our time for the same reason. There are riots and fights there. There is a pretty nasty crowd. Every time India loses to someone, you would have witnessed the crowd there set fire to homes. They experienced these issues when we used to play.”
In a tit-for-tat situation, Pakistani officials have threatened to pull out from the ODI World Cup in India later this year if Men in Blue don’t travel for the Asia Cup. At the ACC meet, the decision was deferred until March.
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