The Asia Cup controversy regarding India's participation in the marquee tournament is raging on with the latest reports suggesting that the tournament will continue to be held in Pakistan but India's matches will be hosted in a neutral venue. Adding fuel to the fire, former Pakistan cricketer Imran Nazir is of the opinion that India will not travel to Pakistan because they are 'scared of losing'.
"There is no security reason. Just look at how many teams have been to Pakistan. Forget A teams, even Australia visited. These are all just cover-ups. The truth is that India won't come to Pakistan [for Asia Cup] because they are afraid of losing. Security is just an excuse. Come and play cricket. When you start playing politics, there is no way back," he said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
Pakistan played host to some of the biggest teams in world cricket in 2022, with Australia, England and New Zealand travelling to the country for a full-fledged series. Still, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Jay Shah wrote to the ICC requesting a change in venue for the Asia Cup.
The PCB took offence to this proposal and threatened to pull out of the 2023 World Cup which will be hosted in India. While Pakistan have insisted that they are keen to host India, the BCCI have remained firm in their stance to host not travel to Pakistan.
"People want to watch India vs Pakistan games because there is a different level of excitement to it. The entire world knows it. Even we as cricketers feel that for cricket to reach every corner of the world, India-Pakistan matches need to happen. We used to play so much cricket. They are such a balanced tea but India cannot tolerate losing. It's a game; you'll win some, you'll lose some," he mentioned.
The last time India travelled to Pakistan was way back in 2006 when they lost a Test series but won the following ODI series. Since then, Pakistan have toured India twice before bilateral ties were severed after a brief tour in 2012-13.
Nowadays, the two heavyweight cricketing nations only face off in multi-nation ICC tournaments like World Cups, Champions Trophies and the Asia Cups. In 2022, India and Pakistan faced off thrice — twice in the Asia Cup and then during the T20 World Cup. India won twice, once in the Asia Cup and their T20 World Cup group stage encounter.
READ ALSO:
Anurag Thakur avoids question on India's Asia Cup participation, puts onus of decision on BCCI
