The PCB lacks the guts to skip an ICC event: Denmark Kaneria. The BCCI has not yet responded to Ramiz Raja’s assertion.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s secretary and the head of the Asian Cricket Council, Jay Shah, made a significant declaration last month: the Indian squad will under no circumstances be flying to Pakistan for the next Asia Cup.
Ramiz Raja, the current head of the Pakistan Cricket Board, did not treat it lightly. The board promptly responded with a statement that stated Pakistan would not play in the 50-over World Cup in 2023 if India did not travel to Pakistan to compete in the Asia Cup.
On Friday, November 25, Raja dropped the bombshell, saying that if India elected to boycott the Asia Cup, the Pakistani team wouldn’t be going to India for the ODI World Cup the following year.
It has caused some agitation within the cricketing community. Former Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria thinks the Pakistan Cricket Board lacks the guts to boycott an ICC event. The former cricketer added that Pakistan would undoubtedly suffer if they missed a major event, while India wouldn’t suffer from missing the Asia Cup.
“The PCB does not have enough guts to boycott an ICC event. India, on the other hand, don’t care if Pakistan don’t come. They have a huge market that generates a lot of revenue. Not travelling to India for the World Cup will have a major effect on Pakistan. Pakistan will ultimately travel to India for the World Cup. Officials will say that they had no other option as there was pressure from the ICC. It will hurt Pakistan cricket badly if they talk about skipping an ICC event again and again,”
He said.
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In addition to India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan may choose not to visit Pakistan: Kaneria
The leg spinner also mentioned that Bangladesh and Afghanistan may decide against visiting Pakistan in the upcoming year due to security concerns.
“There is still a lot of time for the Asia Cup. We can’t be sure that everything will be fine in the country by then or if the tournament will be conducted on Pakistani soil or not. We don’t know what the situation will be like during that time. It could also be possible that, apart from India, teams like Bangladesh and Afghanistan also refuse to travel to Pakistan. The people of Pakistan want the Asia Cup to be played in their country. However, you have to remain on the back foot because of the situation of the nation,”
Kaneria said.
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