World cricket has been rocked by PCB president Ramiz Raja’s inflammatory statement outlining Pakistan’s position on the ODI World Cup 2023, which is slated to be staged in India. Ramiz stated that Pakistan would boycott the ODI World Cup as well if BCCI maintain true to their words, a month after BCCI secretary and ACC president Jay Shah revealed that Team India won’t be visiting Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023. Former Indian cricketer and current sports minister Gautam Gambhir responded to Ramiz’s vehement statement.
Before the T20 World Cup, there was a story saying that the BCCI will permit their travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which would be the first time in more than 14 years. Shah, though, dismissed the rumours in a way that infuriated PCB. They had responded to the claim with a press release that demanded an ACC meeting.
Six days after Shah’s shocking admission, Ramiz informed Urdu News on Friday, “If Pakistan doesn’t take part in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will watch it? We have a clear stand: If the Indian team comes here then we will go for the World Cup. If they don’t come then they can play the World Cup without us. We will adopt an aggressive approach. Our team is showing performance. I’ve always said we need to improve the economy of Pakistan cricket, and that can only happen when we perform well. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, we beat India. We beat India in the T20 Asia Cup. In one year, the Pakistan cricket team defeated a billion dollar economy team twice.”
When questioned about Gambhir’s response, he stayed silent and acknowledged that the BCCI and PCB should make the final judgement.
He said to ANI, “This is the decision of BCCI and PCB. Whatever decision they take, they will take it together.”
Anurag Thakur previously responded harshly to Ramiz Raja’s claim that no country can ignore India.
Anurag Thakur said, “Wait for the right time. India is a major power in the world of sports & no country can overlook India.”
