Moin Khan, ex-Pakistan captain, urged Indian cricketing legends to push BCCI to keep sports separate from politics. Moin’s statement came amidst the Indian team’s potential withdrawal from the Pakistan-hosted ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
India has not traveled to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, while the two sides have not played a bilateral Test series since 2007. The last time India and Pakistan played bilateral series was in 2012-13 when Pakistan traveled to India for three ODIs and one T20I.
However, ever since the Pulwama terror attack in 2019, India and Pakistan matches have been limited to ICC and ACC events. The tension between the two countries even led to Pakistan refusing to tour India for the Asia Cup in 2018 and India did the same in 2023.
However, Pakistan visited India for the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. But India is not willing to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in 2025, the first ICC event Pakistan is hosting since the 1996 World Cup.
In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Moin Khan urged Indian cricket legends to push the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to assure their team’s participation, highlighting the sport’s wider consequences if India withdraws. He passionately believes that cricket should be kept free from political debates.
“In my view, Indian cricket legends should advise the BCCI to keep sports separate from politics. Fans worldwide want India and Pakistan to play, benefiting not just Pakistan but the sport as a whole. India must honor ICC commitments, and if they don’t, Pakistan should also consider taking a stand by not participating in future tournaments in India,” Moin Khan said.
Reports stated that BCCI has urged ICC to keep the Indian team’s matches at a neutral venue like Sri Lanka or UAE, while the rest of the matches are played in Pakistan.
Moin Khan believes Shaheen Afridi should replace Babar Azam as Pakistan’s white-ball captain
Meanwhile, after Pakistan’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, questions are being raised about Babar Azam’s captaincy. Babar is also undergoing a poor patch of form across formats and Moin Khan feels PCB should once again trust Shaheen Afridi with captaincy.
Shaheen was named captain of the Pakistan T20I team after the 2023 World Cup debacle, but after Pakistan lost to New Zealand 1-4 in a series, PCB dumped him as captain and handed the reins back to Babar Azam.
“Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team and is highly liked by the players. He is an excellent choice for captaincy in T20s. In white-ball cricket, I don’t see anyone else suitable for the role. Removing him from the captaincy was unjust. He is one of the best T20 players, and I’ve noticed his performance has slightly declined since he was removed from the captaincy. How can you expect good performance if you don’t give players confidence? They should be given some time as captain,” Moin Khan said.
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