Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ehsan Mani opened up about the issues with the upcoming T20 World Cup to be hosted by India and the possible hosting of the Asia Cup as well.
Mani had, sometime back, asked the Indian cricket board (BCCI) to give Pakistan written assurance that its players will get the required visas without hassle for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021, to be played in India in October- November.
Talking about the same, Mani said, “Well, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) was supposed to come up with a clear confirmation by December 31. Let me make it very clear that we have got nothing against the event being held in India, but we have to be absolutely sure that our players, support staff, fans, and the media should get the necessary visas.
The decision was postponed to January, but Sourav Ganguly (the BCCI president) was not well and they asked for more time, but now January has also passed.”
Mani also expressed his apprehension for the same, citing an incident in 2019 involving the Pakistan women’s team.
“Here was an unfortunate incident when in 2019, the Pakistan women’s team were supposed to play an ICC Qualifier there. The BCCI said they had written to the Indian government but did not get a response...this went on for months and eventually, the Indian board said it was too late. The women’s team couldn’t play the match and the points had to be shared. We do not want that kind of a situation to happen again as it’s not good for world cricket,” Mani said.
Ehsan Mani also said that in case India cannot guarantee visas to Pakistani players and officials, the tournament should be shifted to the UAE and he was confident of the desert country hosting the ICC event successfully.
The former ICC chief and current PCB chief also talked about the Asia Cup tournament, which was supposed to be played in Pakistan in 2020 and was then swapped with Sri Lanka and is supposed to be played this year.
BCCI’s proposed home bilateral plans may cause them to pull out of Asia Cup 2021
He said, “We swapped the 2020 Asia Cup, which was supposed to be held in Sri Lanka, to 2021 in June because of the pandemic situation last year. However, it’s going to clash with the World Test Championship and hence it will now be held in 2023.”
“We are capable of holding all our home matches in Pakistan. Anyone who wants to play us has to play in Pakistan. The only time I would consider holding something there (in the UAE) is if there are any Asian Cricket Council (ACC) events like the Asia Cup. I will be happy to involve other member countries of the Asian council than just India and Pakistan,” he further added.
(gulfnews.com inputs)
