Discussions surrounding the hosting of the 2023 Asia Cup are still ongoing, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently proposing a hybrid model during an Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting. Under this model, India would play their matches in the United Arab Emirates. However, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) rejected this proposal.
In light of this, Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan has criticized India for their reluctance to visit Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup. He questioned why India is so concerned about security when other international teams are not. Furthermore, he even went as far as to ask whether Indian players are aliens from another world.
"The situation in Pakistan is good. If other teams are coming, such as Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand, and they have no security problems, then why does India have a problem? What is the reason for this? Are they Aliens from another world who have security problems? " Junaid was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Junaid Khan expressed his concern that the International Cricket Council (ICC) must address the issues at hand. He emphasized that Pakistan is a formidable team, having reached the pinnacle of the ODI team rankings and still maintaining a spot among the top three teams.
It is worth noting that Pakistan achieved the top spot in the ODI team rankings for the first time since the ICC formally accepted the rankings in January 2005, following their victory in the fourth ODI against New Zealand. Unfortunately, their reign was short-lived as they lost the top spot after a defeat in the fifth and final ODI against the Kiwis.
"The ICC should look into these issues; otherwise, cricket without Pakistan is impossible. Pakistan is not a small team; just a few days ago, Pakistan was the world's number one team and is still among the top three teams," he added.
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