Pakistan threatens India, to boycott Cricket World Cup 2023 if…

2 min read . Updated: 26 Nov 2022, 01:36 PM IST Sounak Mukhopadhyay

'If Pakistan does not participate in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will see it?' PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja has said that his team will not travel to India for Cricket World Cup 2023 if the BCCI does this.

Pakistan has threatened that it will boycott the 50-over cricket world cup 2023 to be held in India next year. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has said that his team will not travel to the neighbouring country in case India decides against attending the Asia Cup 2023 to be held in Pakistan.

Raja made reference to India's defeats by Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021 and the Asia Cup earlier in 2022. He said that an aggressive strategy would be used because of their excellent performances and their two victories over the "biggest business-making cricket team" in one year.

"Our position is blunt that, if they come, then we will go to the World Cup, if they do not come then let them do it. Let them play without Pakistan. If Pakistan does not participate in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will see it?" Raja said.

Only when the team performs well will Pakistan's cricket economy improve, Raja told Pakistani media while adding that his team had defeated the “board of billion-dollar economy" twice in one year, giving a direct reference to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Sports, previously stated that India was not afraid of any threat and that it would not prevent them from hosting the competition. The Cricket World Cup 2023 would be held in India with all the teams, the Sports Minister said.

The Asia Cup would be held at a neutral location, according to BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who flatly denied earlier in October rumours that Team India would travel to Pakistan for the event.

Shah's remarks regarding holding the Asia Cup at a neutral site prompted a statement from PCB. "The overall impact of such statements has the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities and can impact Pakistan's visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle," the statement said.

According to BCCI President Roger Binny, the government will decide whether or not to travel Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup, not the board.

Following the 2009 terrorist assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team, cricket teams ceased visiting Pakistan. International tours didn't start happening again in the nation until 2015. Since then, teams from Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Australia and England have visited Pakistan for bilateral series.

(With ANI inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sounak Mukhopadhyay

Sounak Mukhopadhyay, who also goes by the name Sounak Mukherjee, has been producing digital news since 2012. He's worked for the International Business Times, The Inquisitr, and Moneycontrol in the past. He's also contributed to Free Press Journal and TheRichest with feature articles. He covers news for a wide range of subjects including business, finance, economy, politics and social media. Before working with digital news publications, he worked as a freelance content writer.