PCB proposes new model for Asia Cup; threatens pull out if new proposal rejected.
However, this suggestion was rejected by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) citing the extreme heat during the summers in the desert country.
In response, Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan has criticized India for their reluctance to visit Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup. He questioned why India is so concerned about security when other international teams are not.
He even called Indian players aliens from another world for their reluctance to come to Pakistan and play.
"The situation in Pakistan is good. If other teams are coming, such as Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand, and they have no security problems, then why does India have a problem? What is the reason for this? Are they Aliens from another world who have security problems? " Junaid was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
He also urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene in this issue citing Pakistan’s recent number 1 ranking in ODIs and its good spot in the top three in limited overs rankings.
"The ICC should look into these issues; otherwise, cricket without Pakistan is impossible. Pakistan is not a small team; just a few days ago, Pakistan was the world's number one team and is still among the top three teams," he added.
But they have also threatened that if their proposal is rejected, then, the Pakistan team will pull out of the Asia Cup tournament.
“Yes, Najam Sethi as part of the plan B of the hybrid model proposed by us for the Asia Cup has informed the ACC this week in Dubai that PCB would be satisfied hosting four games at home,” a PCB source told PTI.
Sethi has proposed a Pakistan v Nepal match and Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, and Sri Lanka v Bangladesh matches in Pakistan.
But the source also mentioned that Sethi also conveyed to the ACC in Dubai that if even this plan B of the PCB was rejected by ACC members, then Pakistan would neither play in the Asia Cup and also withdraw from the Asian Cricket Council.
“The one challenge now facing the ACC and us as hosts is that Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India are insisting the event shouldn’t be held in UAE in September as the weather is very hot. In the recent past, BCCI has organized the entire (half) of IPL in UAE between September and November (in 2021) while the last two Asia Cups have also been held in UAE during the same period,” the source added.
(Cricket Pakistan/PTI inputs)