After BCCI’s rigid decision on not to travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup, former Pakistan skipper Javed Miandad has castigated the board. Post the Asian Cricket Council meeting that took place last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India clearly stated that the Indian team will not be travelling to Pakistan to take part in the Asia Cup.

“India can go to hell if they don’t want to come to Pakistan to play cricket,”  Javed Miandad stated at a recent public event.

“I’ve always backed Pakistan. And you know that I don’t leave spare India whenever an issue arises. But the thing is we need to look at our part. And we should fight for it. We don’t care because we are getting to host our cricket. This is ICC’s job. If ICC can’t control this there’s no use of the governing body. They need to implement similar rules for every team. If teams like these don’t come, they should be debarred. India hoga, apne liye hoga. Hmare liye nahi hai.“

He also said, “Come and play. Why don’t they? They run. For them it becomes a trouble if they come here and lose to us. The public there can’t stomach it. It’s always been the case. During our time, they used to not play because of the same reason. Riots and fighting take place there. The crowd there is very nasty. You would’ve seen whenever India loses, to anyone, the crowd there burns down houses. When we used to play, they had faced such troubles.”

“They are bet losers. The public there need to understand. Cricket is a sport. If you don’t play well, you deserve to lose. If I play well, I deserve to win. Rather you go into other things. What good is that? I say this to the ICC, if anyone does resort to such ways, ICC need to be strict. If you’re India, so what? If any country behaves this way, ICC need to take action. Such teams should be removed to learn a lesson.”

Earlier, Jay Shah, the BCCI Secretary, and Najam Sethi, the current chairman of the PCB, met during the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting in Bahrain. Unsurprisingly, the two spoke about the issue. But as per a report, Shah continued to the same old opinion that India won’t be travelling. To make matters more interesting, a media report also claimed that the Asia Cup could be hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE), although an official confirmation is awaited.