The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI uncompromising)’s position on not travelling to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup has drawn harsh criticism from former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad.
The BCCI made their position on the Indian squad not travelling to Pakistan to compete in the forthcoming Asia Cup known during the Asian Cricket Council’s meeting the week before. The reason behind this is that due to diplomatic difficulties between the two countries, it will not receive “permission from the Indian government” to travel to Pakistan to play cricket.
On the other hand, Miandad contends that India’s unwillingness to play in Pakistan is a result of their fear of falling short of Pakistan in their own country.
“Come and play. Why don’t they? They run. For them, it becomes trouble if they come here and lose to us. The public there can’t stomach it. It’s always been the case. During our time, they used to not play because of the same reason. Riots and fighting take place there. The crowd there is very nasty. You would’ve seen whenever India loses, to anyone, the crowd there burns down houses. When we used to play, they had faced such troubles.”- he stated.
Following a decade-long absence due to terrorist attacks during the Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board has shown interest in hosting the 2023 ODI format Asia Cup and has referred to foreign teams touring the country to reassure players of safety concerns. Over the recent year, teams like England, New Zealand, and Australia have toured the nation and played Test cricket. The PCB wants cricketing links with the Indian squad to resume, but the BCCI is hesitant to come to Pakistan.
Due to the BCCI’s stance, the event is likely to be relocated from Pakistan to another location, with PCB keeping the rights to host the tournament, as Sri Lanka had undergone economic issues last year they did in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).