KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan on Monday, stated that Pakistan should not tour India for World Cup if the Indian team does not play their Asia Cup matches in Pakistan.
Moin interacted with the media here and commented on the most debated deadlock between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) over the Asia Cup and World Cup venue.
The former captain opined that the PCB should take a strong stance on the matter and not send the national team to India for World Cup if the Indian team does not come here to participate in the Asia Cup.
“If India does not come to Pakistan to play the Asia Cup, then Pakistan should not go either for the World Cup. I think Pakistan Cricket Board should oppose this,” said Moin.
“If India plays the Asia Cup at a neutral venue, Pakistan’s matches should also be held at a neutral venue,” he added.
Moin also stated that the BCCI can not impose its decision on other boards by extortion of money while also stating that the two cricket boards should resolve the deadlock by dialogue and called for cricket diplomacy between the two nations.
“India cannot impose its will on other cricket boards by extortion of money. Cricket should be played, and for this, there should be a discussion in the boards of India and Pakistan,” stated Moin.
“There should be cricket diplomacy between the two countries,” he concluded.
It is worth mentioning here that the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup and Pakistan’s participation in the Men’s ODI World Cup has been in jeopardy after the BCCI refused to tour Pakistan for the aforementioned tournament on political grounds.
The BCCI maintained their stance of not touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup, while the PCB was adamant that if they do not, then Pakistan might not travel to India for the World Cup in October-November.
The uncertainty around the 2023 Asia Cup began in October last year when the ACC president, and BCCI secretary, Jay Shah refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan and has since been trying to shift the tournament to a neutral venue.
Several ideas have been pitched to find a way through the long-persisted deadlock including the hybrid model to host the matches of Pakistan and India during the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and Asia Cup at neutral venues.
However, the deadlock persisted after the BCCI flatly refused to accept the hybrid model and insisted on shifting the entire Asia Cup to a neutral venue and hosting all World Cup matches in Pakistan.
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