A fresh war seems to have been triggered between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah suggested that the Asia Cup 2022 will be held at a neutral venue since India can’t travel to Pakistan. PCB, in reply, issued a strong statement, saying such a decision by the India could force Pakistan to pull out of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
As reactions continue to come from the cricketing world on this battle between India and Pakistan on the cricketing front, former spinner Danish Kaneria has shared his opinion on the matter. Kaneria, in a video on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, suggested that Pakistan have no option but to accept India’s decision as 90% of the ICC funding comes from the BCCI.
“The BCCI could very well decide to do that. The PCB cannot take any objection as BCCI is the richest board in the world and they contribute 90% to ICC’s overall revenue. Pakistan might not agree with the BCCI’s stance on the matter but all other boards have to agree with them. England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, all these boards are with the BCCI as they know there’s nothing without the BCCI.
“The Indian board is very, very powerful, whereas the current Pakistan administration is quite weak. There used to be a few strict administrators in the Pakistan board who are not there anymore. They will have to agree with what the BCCI says, and there’s no need to feel bad, because it’s due to the political scenario between the two countries as the Indian board would not get the required clearance (to travel to Pakistan),” he said in the video which came before PCB issued a statement on the matter.
Speaking of the way forward, Kaneria said that the members of the two boards, as well as diplomats, should arrange a meeting to resolve this matter at a neutral venue.
“Officials from the BCCI and the PCB should arrange a meeting at a natural venue. They can do that in Dubai in the presence of some people from the ICC. Both the boards should build their respective core teams consisting of diplomats,” he asserted.
About the talks of Pakistan refusing to play against India at ICC events as a rebuttal, Kaneria doesn’t feel PCB can afford to take such a step.
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“India vs Pakistan is the biggest match there is and people absolutely love it. People have even been talking about the resumption of bilateral cricket. Some have suggested that Pakistan should not play against India in ICC events. But, the truth is Pakistan can’t do that, they can’t afford to take such a step. But, India can do this, they can refuse to play against Pakistan even in ICC events,” he opined.
“It is all but certain that the Asia Cup will not be held in Pakistan next year. It isn’t just BCCI, tomorrow Afghanistan can also refuse to travel to Pakistan,” he further said in the video.
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