After Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah's earlier claim that India will not travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup, the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has come out with a fiery response during an interview with Urdu News.
"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," the PCB chief said.
"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," he added.
Former India captain and two-time World Cup-winning player, Gautam Gambhir responded to Ramiz Raza's fiery warning and came up with a sedate response.
"This is the decision of BCCI and PCB. Whatever decision they take, they will take it together," Gambhir had told ANI.
According to the ICC's FTP, Pakistan are also scheduled to host the Champions Trophy in 2025 in addition to the Asia Cup in 2023. Since the return of international cricket in their country, the Champions Trophy will be the first ICC event to be scheduled in Pakistan.
The side reached the final of the T20 World Cup, beating New Zealand in the semifinal. However, they lost to England in a closely-fought match that went to the wire.
