The Asia Cup and ODI World Cup venue controversy has consumed the whole cricket community for months. The saga has taken a new turn following the adoption of the hybrid format by the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Asian Cricket Council. Pakistan’s Sports Minister has suggested that the Babar Azam-led team won’t visit India for the World Cup if the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) insists on holding the Asia Cup at a neutral site.
Since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) falls under my ministry, in my personal opinion, if India insists on holding its Asia Cup matches at a neutral location, Pakistan would also want the same for our World Cup matches in India, the country’s sports minister Ehsaan Mazari stated to Indian Express. According to the Sports Minister’s declaration, Pakistan would not visit India if the BCCI decided to hold the Asia Cup at a neutral site.
Just one day prior to making his statement, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif established a committee to discuss his country’s participation in the World Cup, which will staged in India this year.
“Among the eleven ministers who will serve on the committee is Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The PM, who is also the PCB’s patron-in-chief, will hear our discussion of the problem and receive our recommendations. The ultimate decision would be made by the PM, Mazari told the committee.
The minister also took aim at the BCCI, saying he perplexed by India’s resistance to playing cricket in Pakistan.
“Sports enter politics in India. Why the Indian government doesn’t want to send its cricket team here is something I don’t comprehend. A sizable Indian baseball team visited Islamabad previously to play. The bridge team that had visited Pakistan was another. There were more than 60 people there, and I was the event’s main guest. After winning, they left. The football, hockey, and chess teams from Pakistan also visit India, he added.
Mazari provided instances of other teams that had visited Pakistan in response to the BCCI’s “security concern” regarding the Indian team’s prospective travel there.
The England cricket team was in Pakistan prior to the New Zealand squad’s arrival. Presidental security was provided. The local fans earlier gave the Indian squad a warm welcome. Security is a pretext. We also hosted the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which featured a large number of foreign athletes, he added.
The agreement the PCB had signed regarding its participation in the ODI World Cup in India had just been “reminded” to Pakistan by the International Cricket Council.
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