The cricket world has been deprived of the intense rivalry between India and Pakistan due to political tension between the two countries. They have not played a bilateral series with each other after 2012-13 when Pakistan had toured India for six white-ball games.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has said that the BCCI should strive to normalise the relationship between the two cricketing nations.
Afridi, who is currently featuring in the Legends League Cricket, also requested the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “let cricket happen”.
“I will request Modi sahab to let cricket happen between both countries,” Afridi quoted as saying by The Indian Express on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket in Doha.
“What can we do if we want to befriend someone and he does not talk to us? There is no doubt that the BCCI is a very strong board, but when you are strong, you have more responsibility. You don’t try to make more enemies, you need to make friends. When you make more friends, you become stronger,” he added.
When asked if he believes the Pakistan Cricket Board is weak, Afridi replied: “I would not say weak, but some answers came from the front (BCCI) as well.”
Shahid Afridi still shares cordial relationships with a number of Indian players. In the ongoing Legends League Cricket, former India cricketer Suresh Raina gave him a bat.
“I still have friends in the Indian team when we meet, we discuss, the other day I met Raina and I asked for a bat, he gave me a bat,” he said.
Pakistan have the Asia Cup 2023 hosting rights but BCCI officials have time and again reiterated that the Indian team will not travel due to security reasons and the event would be shifted to a neutral venue.
Afridi cited that there is no security concerns in Pakistan as many international teams have safely toured the country in recent times.
“As far as the security concern in Pakistan is concerned, we had many international teams traveling here recently. We used to face security threats from India as well, but if permission is received from the government of both the countries then the tour will happen. If the tour doesn’t happen, we will give those people a chance. All they want is that there should be no cricket between them,” he stated.
As of today, PCB has not agreed to the demand of shifting the Asia Cup out of Pakistan, leading to a deadlock. In fact, after the ACC meeting in Bahrain last month, the PCB chief Najam Sethi threatened to boycott the 2023 ODI World Cup in India if the arch-rivals refuse to travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.
“The real thing is that we never discuss with each other. Communication is most important. Politicians do the same, they discuss. Nothing will be resolved until you sit among yourselves. It would have been better if India had come to Pakistan. We and our governments want better relations with each other,” Afridi said.
(The Indian Express Inputs)
