Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja once again gave a statement antagonizing the BCCI and Indian team fans saying that they shouldn’t even think of pulling out of Asia Cup 2023 which will be played in Pakistan, or else the Men in Green might boycott the 2023 World Cup which India will host.
Last month, BCCI secretary Jay Shah set the cat amongst the pigeons by announcing that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for the 50-over edition of the Asia Cup 2023 which serves as a preparation for the World Cup later that year.
Pakistan hasn’t hosted an ACC or ICC event since 2008 when they hosted the Asia Cup that year. Pakistan hasn’t also hosted any ICC event since the 1996 World Cup and is set to host the Champions Trophy tournament in 2025.
However, the political tensions between India and Pakistan have meant that both nations do not play bilateral series and only meet at ACC or ICC events. In 2018, when India was to host the Asia Cup, Pakistan refused to travel to India, and the tournament was moved to UAE as a result.
"Neutral venue for Asia Cup is not unprecedented and we have decided that we will not travel to Pakistan. It's the govt which decides over the permission of our team visiting Pakistan so we won't comment on that but for the 2023 Asia Cup, it is decided that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue,” Shah said last month after BCCI's 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai.
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The remark from Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council left PCB furious over the timing of the statement and change of venue.
Speaking to Urdu News, Ramiz Raja challenged the BCCI to not send the Indian team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup and said if that happens, then Pakistan will not travel to India for the World Cup as well.
“If Pakistan doesn't take part in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will watch it? We have a clear stand: If the Indian team comes here then we will go for the World Cup. If they don't come then they can play the World Cup without us. We will adopt an aggressive approach. Our team is showing performance. I've always said we need to improve the economy of Pakistan cricket, and that can only happen when we perform well. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, we beat India. We beat India in the T20 Asia Cup. In one year, the Pakistan cricket team defeated a billion-dollar economy team twice,” he said.
The last time these two teams met was recently in the T20 World Cup 2022 and India defeated Pakistan in Melbourne in an epic encounter by 4 wickets.
