Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has said that he can give in writing that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023 tournament and that the tournament will be moved to a neutral venue.
His statement came in the aftermath of BCCI secretary Jay Shah saying that he in the capacity of president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), confirmed that India will not be traveling to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup and that it will be hosted in a neutral venue.
PCB retorted saying that the statement was made unilaterally and in a strongly worded letter, threatened to pull out of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India and said India's move of not traveling to Pakistan may have consequences in the cricketing ties between the two neighbors.
To be noted, India has not played a bilateral series against Pakistan since 2012-13 and the last time it visited Pakistan was in 2008 for the Asia Cup tournament.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra shared his opinions on the matter and said he can 'give in writing' that India won't travel to Pakistan for next year's Asia Cup and also Pakistan will definitely come to India to play the ODI World Cup.
“Asia Cup might not happen at all if India doesn’t participate, there's no chance. The Asia Cup is a minor tournament compared to the world cup. Skipping the World Cup means you will end up forgoing a massive amount of revenue that ICC shares (with the participating nations). It’s a case of who blinks first. So I’m not taking this seriously. I feel the Asia Cup 2023 will be held and at a neutral venue," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra then reasoned that India has been playing the role of a big brother in ACC and doesn’t take a penny from its revenue and distributes its share instead, while other members often take their share.
He also pointed out that Pakistan cannot afford to boycott the World Cup 2023 given that not playing in the tournament will also mean losing out on their share of the revenue from the tournament which is being pegged in billions.
“Of course, ACC is a consortium. But few are aware of the fact that India doesn’t take a penny from ACC. Everybody takes a certain amount from the (ACC) coffer whether 4 million or 8 million but India ends up distributing their amount instead," Chopra said. “India has been playing the role of a big brother in ACC. If it has been said that the team might not travel to Pakistan, then I can give you this in writing that India won’t. The Asia Cup will also be held at a neutral venue. And Pakistan will also definitely come to play in the World Cup (in India)... Take all this from in writing. All these things are guaranteed," he added.
