India and Pakistan, the two Asian neighbours are not on good terms for a long time but in the last few years, things have turned uglier and it has also affected the sports sector. Both the nations may have played against each other in international cricket tournaments but they have refrained from playing any bilateral series against each other.
In 2023, the Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in Pakistan and earlier it was believed that India will visit Pakistan to take part in the tournament but now chances of India’s visiting Pakistan are very grim. Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who is also the President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has confirmed that the Indian cricket team won’t be travelling to Pakistan for playing in the Asia Cup. Not only this, he has also laid emphasis of organizing the tournament on a neutral venue such as UAE.
This has certainly not gone well with the Pakistan Cricket Board and its chief Ramiz Raja who has stated that if such thing happens, they will also consider pulling out of the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup which is scheduled to be hosted by India and all the other international events as well which will take place in India in the 2024-2031 cycle.
PCB has stated that Jay Shah has made the remarks without having any discussion with the board of ACC and with Pakistan who is the host of the 2023 Asia Cup. PCB further states that these comments will have long term consequences and implications and it is against the philosophy of ACC which was formed in 1983 in order to safeguard the interests of its members and to work for development of the game in the Asia region. PCB has demanded ACC to call an emergency meeting in this regard so that discussion can take place on this important and sensitive matter.
What effect do you think Jay Shah’s statement will have on cricketing relations in the Asian region?