Asia Cup 2023: India vs Pakistan Cricket – The BCCI vs PCB conflict continues to escalate with each passing day. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi has now cast doubt on Pakistan’s participation in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India. This comes after their fallout with BCCI, with Secretary Jay Shah adamant that India won’t travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup. Follow IND vs PAK LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN
Speaking to the media, PCB chief Najam Sethi said Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup remains in doubt should they lose hosting rights for the Asia Cup 2023. Pakistan was awarded the hosting rights for the six-team tournament, but BCCI has refused to travel to the country due to safety concerns. PCB has since proposed a hybrid proposal which both SriLanka and Bangladesh have rejected. Now, the future of the tournament hangs in the balance.
‘We also have security concerns, move WC matches to Dhaka or UAE’
BCCI has maintained that the Indian Government won’t allow the Rohit Sharma-led side to travel to Pakistan. Now, PCB chief Najam Sethi has played the same card citing reasons for their potential boycott of the World Cup.
“We also have security concerns for our team in India,” he said. “So let Pakistan play its matches in Dhaka or Mirpur, or UAE or in Sri Lanka. This is the solution going forward, until such time that India agrees to play Pakistan, in Pakistan and outside Pakistan, bilaterally,” Najam Sethi told the reporters.
As things stand, the BCCI nor the ICC have any plans to stage the World Cup or any matches outside India. Pakistan’s boycott would create a huge mess, with India likely to boycott the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan as well.
Najam Sethi – “If Indian government is stopping BCCI from playing in Pakistan then the same will happen and the government of Pakistan will stop us from playing in India.” #AsiaCup
— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) May 15, 2023
“BCCI should take a good, rational decision so that we don’t have any problems going forward. India should not be looking at a situation where we end up boycotting the Asia Cup and also the World Cup, and then India ends up boycotting the Champions Trophy. That will be a huge mess,” Sethi told Reuters.
BCCI stubbornness reason for conflict, World Cup boycott real possibility
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have also come out against playing in the UAE, citing the heat and logistics issues. Speculation in Pakistan media is rife that the Asian Cricket Council may look to move the entire tournament out of Pakistan. Sethi said that was “not acceptable” and reaffirmed that Pakistan may boycott the World Cup if that happened.
“That’s a very real possibility, of course. The ICC should step in but my sense is India would not like the ICC to step in, especially during the Asia Cup,” he said.
Pakistan was starved of international cricket after a 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. They had to lobby hard to convince top teams to resume touring the country over the last couple of years. Australia and England have toured the country in recent times, while New Zealand also did so during the IPL 2023. Sethi slammed BCCI’s stubbornness for the turmoil, saying all Indian sports teams have travelled in the past.
“Every major country has toured Pakistan in the last few years. You name them, they’ve all been there. They all appreciated the security arrangements. That’s not a problem anymore. The Indian bridge team has been to Pakistan, the Indian kabaddi team has been to Pakistan, the Indian baseball team has been to Pakistan, So what’s going on? Why can’t the Indian cricket team come to Pakistan?” he said.
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