The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stated that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been misleading the Pakistan fans and followers regarding the T20I series between Asia XI vs World XI in Bangladesh. Bangladesh will be conducting two T20 matches in March 2020 in the honour of the birth centenary of ‘Bongobondhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh.
While the two T20 matches will be conducted between the Asia XI and World XI, there were reports that Pakistan cricketers were not given space in the Asia XI. Making the situation clear, PCB came forth and told the media that because of the HBL PSL dates clashing with the T20 matches conducted by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Pakistan would not be able to participate in those special matches.
The two matches, which are said to be given official status by the International Cricket Council (ICC), are scheduled for March 18 and 21 in Dhaka under the umbrella of BCB and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
PCB: ‘It is unfortunate that the facts were twisted to mislead Pakistan cricket fans’
Denoting the statements passed by BCCI, PCB has said that the matter was discussed at an ACC meeting and the Pakistan board informed their Bangladesh counterpart about the situation. As per the reports in the Dawn, PCB informed that they are willing to allow its players as long as the dates could be changed to avoid the clash with the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020.
“The T20Is between World XI and Asia XI were scheduled from March 16-20, while the HBL PSL 2020 is likely to end on March 22. Since the dates of both the series couldn’t be changed, we offered our regrets to the BCB, both verbally and in writing, which they understood and accepted,” a PCB spokesperson said.
“It is unfortunate that the facts were twisted to mislead Pakistan cricket fans and followers,” he added.
BCCI informs there will be no Pakistan players in the Asia XI:
On Thursday, the BCCI joint secretary Jayesh George told IANS that there would be no Pakistan cricketers in the Asia XI for the Bangladesh T20 series. He clearly stated that there would be no such situation where the nations could play together on the world stage.
“What we are aware of is that there will be no Pakistan players in the Asia XI. That is what the message is, so, there is no question of both countries coming together or picking one over the other. Sourav Ganguly will decide the five players who will be a part of the Asia XI,” he said.
On the other hand, the PCB chief Ehsan Mani had taken a dig at the Indian government for the current situations in the nation. He said that the current security situation in India is worse than that of Pakistan.
“We have proved Pakistan is safe, if someone isn’t coming then they should prove that it’s unsafe. At this time, India is a far greater security risk than Pakistan,” said Mani.
The PCB Chief denoted the home assignment against Sri Lanka as the proof of the security situations in Pakistan. Recently, Pakistan has successfully conducted a two-match Test series with Sri Lanka which they won by 1-0.