ISLAMABAD: July 12, 2023: With 24 hours, Jay Shah, secretary of Board of Control of Cricket India (BCCI) has rubbished the media reports that the was going to Pakistan to watch cricket game of Asia Cup . In his clarification , Mr Jay Shah said he did not make any remarks during a meeting with Pakistan’s cricket board’s managing committee chief, Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf for going to Pakistan to watch India-Pakistan in Asia Cup. He said the reports of my visit to Pakistan to watch Asia Cup was either unessentially made on purpose or intentionally made as a mischievous move.
A day earlier, PCB managing committee chief, Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf, had held a sideline meeting with BCCI secretary in Durban, South Afria and discussed with him thorny issues relating to the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. The media report following the meeting between Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf and Jay Shah suggested that Jay Shah has agreed to visit Pakistan for watching Asia Cup game between India and Pakistan and in pro quo Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf will visit India to watch a match between India and Pakistan during Men’s Cricket Cup 2023.
Jay Shah today sharply contradicted any possibility to visit Pakistan for watching a match between India and Pakistan during Asia Cup. He clearly stated that neither Indian team nor he was going to visit Pakistan for any cricket match.
Pakistan and India are arch rival for cricket game and cricket fans love to watch any match between India and Pakistan. In the past, India –Pakistan clash had always attracted huge crowd of cricket fans. Now with rising tensions on the borders, India and Pakistan are unwilling to play cricket in each other’s country. This environment has made Pakistan’s participation in Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 doubtful.
Although the International Cricket Council (ICC) is making every possible effort to ease down tension and persuade India and Pakistan to play cricket on each other’s soil but there are doubts that ICC will become successful in removing trust deficit and make both India and Pakistan that absence from cricket will harm their interests.
