KARACHI – Pakistan’s cricket legend Javed Miandad lashed out at India for refusing to visit Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023, saying that the neighbouring can “go to hell”.
In October last, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped a hint to withdraw from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle. The statement came a dafter the Indian officials said that their team would not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup event.
Asian Cricket Council (ACC) President Jay Shah, who is also chief of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced that they would not send a team for the region’s mega cricket event to Pakistan for the Asia Cup.
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He made the remarks about shifting of the Asia Cup 2023 to a neutral venue “without any discussion or consultation with the Board of the Asian Cricket Council or the Pakistan Cricket Board (event host) and without any thoughts towards their long-term consequences and implications”.
Javed Miandad gave strong reaction to the reluctance being showed by the neighbouring country. He said India could go to hell if it did not want to send its team to Pakistan. Talking to media, he said Pakistan was not worried about the India’s move. He, however, urged the ICC to take measures to control such matters. He demanded the cricketing body to handle all the member countries even handedly.
He said India were running away from the consequences of the matches as crown in neighbouring country was nasty. He said the Indian spectators used to lose their cool after their team faced a defeat.
India’s last visited Pakistan in 2008, while Men in Green’s last visit to neighbouring country was for the 2016 ICC event. The two sides have not engaged in bilateral cricket amid soaring tensions.
The ACC will make a final decision on the venue of Asia Cup 2023 in its Executive Board meeting next month (March).
