The cricket boards of India and Pakistan indulge in a war of words and the PCB threatens not to play the World Cup.
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The controversy started when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), said that the Men in Blue will not travel to Pakistan for the next edition of Asia Cup in 2023 and that it will be hosted at a neutral venue.
“We’ll have Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue. 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,” the BCCI Secretary Jay Shah told ANI after the 91st Annual General Meeting in Mumbai.
The above-mentioned statement did not go down well with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as they have threatened not to participate in the next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.
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PCB also disagreed with the decision to shift the 2023 Asia Cup.
The former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has made some bold statements about the whole situation.
“Asia Cup might not happen at all if India doesn’t participate, there’s no chance. The Asia Cup is a minor tournament compared to the world cup. Skipping the World Cup means you will end up forgoing a massive amount of revenue that ICC shares (with the participating nations). It’s a case of who blinks first. So I’m not taking this seriously. I feel the Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Of course, ACC is a consortium. But few are aware of the fact that India doesn’t take a penny from ACC. Everybody takes a certain amount from the (ACC) coffer whether 4 million or 8 million but India ends up distributing their amount instead,” Chopra said. “India has been playing the role of a big brother in ACC. If it has been said that the team might not travel to Pakistan, then I can give you this in writing that India won’t. The Asia Cup will also be held at a neutral venue. And Pakistan will also definitely come to play in the World Cup (in India)… Take all this from in writing. All these things are guaranteed,” he added.
The tournament was played in a neutral venue in its earlier edition as well, after an economic and political crisis engulfed the host nation Sri Lanka.
