Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi made a shocking claim that the Indian team might be afraid of losing to the Men in Green on Pakistan soil.
Pakistan was selected as the host of the Asia Cup 2023, however, given to recent developments, it doesn’t seem like the event will still happen there. The Indian team refused to travel to the country citing political tension between both countries and security reasons
Speaking to the Indian Express, PCB chairman Najam Sethi raised his questions about the Indian team’s visit to Pakistan for the Asia Cup as the various team from different sports are playing in Pakistan and made a huge claim that the Indian team is afraid of losing to Babar Azam’s team in Pakistan.
“The Indian bridge, volleyball, and kabaddi teams have visited Pakistan. So, what’s the problem with the Indian cricket team coming to Pakistan? My suspicion is that India is afraid of losing to Pakistan in India and India is afraid of losing to Pakistan in Pakistan,” Najam Sethi said
The last time, India toured Pakistan in 2006 was under the leadership of present Indian coach Rahul Dravid, where Pakistan won the three-match test series 1-0 and followed by the 5 match ODI series in which India came back to take the series 4-1 in Pakistan.
This Is One Way To Make Sure We Don’t Come To India – Najam Sethi
Najam Sethi was also surprised by the talks around India-Pakistan in Ahmedabad, as he shared his views on the matter stating that it is one of the ways to make sure Pakistan don’t come to India to play ODI World Cup and said that they are a huge political concern regarding the selection of their venues in India.
“When I heard this statement, I smiled and said to myself – ‘this is one way to make sure we don’t come to India’. If you had said Chennai or Kolkata, it might have made sense. While refraining from delving into the politics behind it, he emphasized that Ahmedabad, as a city, could pose security challenges for the Pakistani team.
However, reports have stated that Pakistan has reservations about playing at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the World Cup.
“The less said about that, the better. It certainly gave the impression that this is a red herring being thrown our way to tell us – ‘hey, we are going to play you in Ahmedabad and you watch out.’ You know, who rules Ahmedabad!” Najam Sethi added.
According to reports, it was said that Pakistan will fly to India provided their World Cup matches were held at a neutral site or were only permitted at a few locations, with Kolkata and Chennai being the likely candidates.
Earlier, When the BCCI refused to send their team for the Asia Cup, which was scheduled to be held in their country, PCB chairman Najam Sethi made it clear that Pakistan will not travel to India for the World Cup in 2023.