Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja has warned the BCCI and said that the Pakistan cricket team won’t travel to India if the Men in Blue pull out of Asia Cup . Pakistan is scheduled to host the 2023 Asia Cup. BCCI’s secretary Jay Shah has already confirmed that Team India won’t be touring Pakistan.
Ramiz Raja has given a massive statement and said that India can play World Cup without Pakistan if they don’t participate in the continental tournament. “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,” Raja has told Urdu News.
“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.”
The next 50-over World Cup is scheduled to be played in India. As far as the World Cup’s venue is concerned, it is highly unlikely that the tournament will be moved out of India. The BCCI has the hosting rights and looks all but set to stage the tournament.
As for Asia Cup, the past 2 editions of the tournament were played in UAE and 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.
The BCCI has already confirmed its stands and the Indian players won’t have to travel to Pakistan next year. It remains to be seen if the PCB will send its team to India or not. The Men in Green last landed in India for the 2016 T20 World Cup.
