Saqlain Mushtaq tells ICC to remember Pakistan’s past favours to world cricket: ‘We are trying to open your eyes’

The former Pakistan spinner addressed the ICC, urging them to start treating everyone 'equally'.

In a scathing take, spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has called out the ICC for its ‘unfair’ treatment of Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup. The former Pakistan spinner feels Bangladesh were hard done by when the ICC replaced them with Scotland, and that the board should have considered their request for a venue change. The Bangladesh government was apprehensive about sending its team to India for the World Cup due to security concerns. This came after Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL contract was terminated by the BCCI. The ICC and BCB went back and forth, before Bangladesh were eventually shown the door.

Saqlain Mushtaq says ICC is heavily infuenced by BCCI (AFP)

Batting for ‘equality’, Saqlain pointed out that Pakistan are trying to show the ICC the true picture and reminded the board how the PCB stepped up as a favour to the board. When international cricket came to a standstill during the deadly 2020 pandemic, Saqlain claimed Pakistan were among the first teams to resume touring overseas. Against that backdrop, he said the ICC’s decision to sideline Bangladesh from an ICC tournament reinforces why Pakistan is justified in backing the government’s call to boycott the T20 World Cup clash against India.

“I fully agree with the stance Pakistan have taken. The world will agree too. They treated Bangladesh unfairly. Bangladesh’s request was legit. ICC should have agreed. This is a very strong Pakistan, that they have sent to the world. We are a peace-loving nation. We are always around to help everyone. The ICC must not forget that, during COVID, when cricket was dead, we did a favour by going to play in England and New Zealand. ICC’s cricket struggled during COVID, and we played everywhere. We even went to India to play the World Cup, but now enough is enough. We are trying to open your eyes,” Saqlain said on a Pakistan TV show ‘Game on Hai’.

Saqlain refuses to hold back

The inventor of the path-breaking ‘Doosra’, Saqlain, wants the ICC to view teams through the same lens. He claims the ICC is operating under BCCI's influence and that it needs to be stopped for the betterment of world cricket. Saqlain fully stands by Pakistan’s decision to boycott the India game out of solidarity towards Bangladesh.

“We are trying to switch focus to equality. The need to give respect to everyone. India is making money; we have no problem with it. Not everything must be about money. You must treat everyone equally. Cricket is the best example of it. What the ICC is doing wrong. They are influenced by the BCCI,” he added.

“Do we ever see umpires saying during an India vs Bangladesh match, ‘What’s the need for a toss just because India are playing?’ No, we don’t. So why is Bangladesh being denied the same rights? If fixtures can be shifted for India, as was done during the Champions Trophy, why couldn’t the same be done for Bangladesh? What they asked for wasn’t unreasonable. The ICC should have found a better solution.”

The standoff between the ICC and PCB has taken an interesting turn, with reports that a rethink could be on the cards after Sri Lanka's Cricket plea.