Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it clear that no Pakistan players will be part of the Asia XI side in their clash with World XI next year in March. Asia XI and World XI are scheduled to play two T20I matches as Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is set to celebrate the birth centenary of ‘Bongobondhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh.
International Cricket Council (ICC) has given the matches international status. There was a big question on how Pakistan and India players will feature together considering the relationship between these two boards isn't normal.
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Speaking to IANS, BCCI Joint Secretary Jayesh George openly said that there will be no Pakistan players invited. “What we are aware of is that there will be no Pakistan players in the Asia XI. That is what the message is, so, there is no question of both countries coming together or picking one over the other. Sourav Ganguly will decide the five players who will be a part of the Asia XI,” he said.
After hosting Sri Lanka, PCB chief Ehsan Mani had said Pakistan has better security than India.
“We have proved Pakistan is safe, if someone isn’t coming then they should prove that it’s unsafe. At this time, India is a far greater security risk than Pakistan. No one should now doubt security arrangements in Pakistan after successful Sri Lanka Test series. This is a turning point for the revival of Test cricket in Pakistan. Media and fans played an important role in portraying a positive image of Pakistan worldwide,” Mani had said.
Recently, when BCCI president Sourav Ganguly presented the idea of a four-nation tournament, former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif called it a flop idea.
“By playing such a series, these four countries want to isolate the other member nations, which is not good news. But I think this will be a flop idea like the Big Three model, which was introduced a few years back,” Latif said in a YouTube video.
(With IANS Inputs)
