Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja on Friday made an explosive statement in reaction to BCCI secretary and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah’s comment last month that Team India players won’t be allowed to go to Pakistan for the Asia Cup next year while further adding that he wants the venue to be changed to UAE. While PCB had countered the statement last month, Ramiz clarified his stance that Pakistan won’t travel to India for the ODI World Cup in 2023 if India don’t come for the Asia Cup. The comments created quite a stir before India’s Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur reacted with a brutal response.
Speaking to Urdu News on Friday, more than a month after Shah’s bombshell statement, Ramiz said, “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. 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.”
When asked about Ramiz’s comment, Thakur sent out a stern message saying that no country can avoid India, who are now a major power in world sports.
“Wait for the right time. India is a major power in the world of sports & no country can overlook India,” he told ANI.
BCCI is yet to make a statement on Ramiz’s remark while ACC are yet to hold a meeting on Jay Shah’s statement on venue change.
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