Tensions arose between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier this week when BCCI secretary Jay Shah – who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) – made a big remark about traveling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup next year. Shah stated that India will not be touring the country for the continental tournament, and that the Asia Cup will instead be taking place at a neutral venue.
The comment didn't sit well with the PCB, which issued a strongly-worded statement on the same on their official social media profiles on Wednesday. The PCB hinted that the remark from Shah could impact the side's participation in the next year's ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place in India. Many former Pakistan cricketers have also spoken strongly against Jay Shah's comments including the country's legendary ex-captain, Javed Miandad.
Reacting to Shah's comments on YouTube channel Cricket Pakistan, Miandad said that they should scrap the entire Asia Cup rather than making such remarks.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to Shah's comments on YouTube channel Cricket Pakistan, Miandad said that they should scrap the entire Asia Cup rather than making such remarks.
{{/usCountry}}“Ye ICC kis cheez ke liye hai? Aap Asia Cup naa karo na. Ham toh Asia me hi aate hain. Aapas me khelenge toh fayda hoga na. Cricket me politics ko nahi laana chahiye. Main abhi bhi request karta hu sabse.. aapke players khelte hain. Varna aap cricket band karein, ye pick and choose karna galat hai. (What's the point of ICC? Scrap the Asia Cup if that's the case. We are in Asia. We will only benefit from playing each other. You shouldn't bring politics into cricket. I request everyone for the sake of players. This pick-and-choose is wrong, you should stop playing cricket otherwise),” Miandad said.
“8-10 teams hi cricket khelti hain ab. Agar aapko cricket ko upar lekar aana hai, sports me aisi cheezein nahi honi chahiye. (Only 8-10 teams play cricket. If you want to take cricket further, you shouldn't have such things happening),” Miandad further said.
India and Pakistan will meet in the T20 World Cup on Sunday, when both sides open their campaign with a blockbuster clash at the T20 World Cup. In the Asia Cup last month, India and Pakistan met twice with both teams winning a game each.