BCCI secretary Jay Shah had last month said that the Indian team will not be travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in 2023, and rather suggested that the venue be shifted to UAE. Obviously, Shah’s remark didn’t go down well with the PCB and its chief has now responded with an angry remark.
Speaking to Urdu News, Raja hit out at the BCCI and the Indian team, saying that if the Rohit Sharma-led side doesn’t come to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, the Pakistani team will not be traveling to India for the ODI World Cup next year.
“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.
After BCCI's 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai, Shah had said: “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.”
Apart from next year’s Asia Cup, Pakistan is also scheduled to host the Champions Trophy in 2025. Since the return of international cricket in their country, the Champions Trophy will be the first ICC event to be scheduled in Pakistan.
On the other hand, India is already set to host the next 50-over World Cup. With the BCCI having the hosting rights, the venue of the World Cup is highly unlikely to move out of India.
For the Asia Cup, the previous two editions were played in the UAE and this time too, it looks set to be moved out of Pakistan. In 2018, the BCCI had the hosting rights but couldn't stage it. In 2022, Sri Lanka had the hosting rights but the tournament was once again played in UAE.
