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India hit back at Pakistan's response after the country's cricket board threatened to pull out of the 2023 ICC World Cup following BCCI secretary Jay Shah's announcement that the Indian cricket team will not travel to the neighboring country to participate in next year's Asia Cup. Leading the fightback against Pakistan was former India opener Aakash Chopra who claimed that Jay Shah had said nothing wrong in his statement and that if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made an issue out of it, the Asia Cup may just not be organized at all.
According to Aakash Chopra, the Indian cricketing body has played the role of a “big brother” all this while and has always helped the member boards of the Asian Cricket Council, including Pakistan.
Aakash Chopra further revealed that India doesn't take money from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the money generated by hosting an event as Asia Cup goes to other member countries.
Moreover, Aakash Chopra reiterated that the World Cup is a far bigger tournament than the Asia Cup, and if Pakistan doesn't take part in it, the PCB will lose a huge amount of revenue which the ICC shares with the participating nations.
“Asia Cup might not happen at all if India don't participate, there's no chance. The Asia Cup is a minor tournament compared to the world cup. Skipping the World Cup means you will end up forgoing a massive amount of revenue that ICC shares (with the participating nations). It's a case of who blinks first. So I'm not taking this seriously. I feel the Asia Cup 2023 will be held and at a neutral venue,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Of course, ACC is a consortium. But few are aware of the fact that India doesn't take a penny from ACC. Everybody takes a certain amount from the (ACC) coffer whether 4 million or 8 million but India ends up distributing their amount instead,” Aakash Chopra explained.
“India has been playing the role of a big brother in ACC. If it has been said that the team might not travel to Pakistan, then I can give you this in writing that India won't. The Asia Cup will also be held at a neutral venue. And Pakistan will also definitely come to play in the World Cup (in India)… Take all this from me in writing. All these things are guaranteed,” Aakash Chopra added.
Aakash Chopra's sentiments were shared by Indian sports minister Anurag Thakur as well who was also critical of Pakistan's intention to do a tit-for-tat if India failed to tour the neighboring country for the Asia Cup.
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“The ODI World Cup will take place next year in India and all big teams around the globe will take part in it. Because you can't ignore India in any sport. India has contributed a lot to sports, especially cricket. What is cricket without India,” the Sports Minister told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday.
Though Anurag Thakur didn't completely rule out the possibility of the Indian cricket team traveling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, he said that the government would soon decide after analyzing the threat perception to the players there.
“Possibilities are always there. Who thought there will be COVID-19? Anything can happen but the chances (of Indian team travelling to Pakistan) are not much. It's a decision that will be taken by the home ministry. Overall, players' safety and security is an important matter,” Anurag Thakur added.
Earlier, Pakistan legend Waqar Younis leveled serious allegations against the BCCI, accusing the Indian cricket board of trying to “damage” cricket in Pakistan.
“I don't think ye cricket board ka faisla hai. Misbah ne kaha tha ki this is not cricket board, this is coming from the top. Unki badi simple policy hai ki Pakistan ke saath nahi khelna, Pakistan ko tour nahi karna, especially kyunki cricket aakhon me aati hai, zyada log pasand karte hain. (I don't think this is the Indian cricket board's decision. Misbah had said earlier that this was coming from the top. They have a simple policy that they don't want to play against Pakistan or tour the country, because cricket is watched by many),” Waqar Younis said in a conversation with A Sports.
“They want to damage Pakistan, as simple as that. Pakistan should take a stand, and I think PCB gave a good statement. We have to take care of Pakistan cricket, and we have to look after our dignity and respect because that is more important than playing cricket with them. We will see what happens over the next few days,” Waqar Younis added.
