Sports Minister Anurag Thakur
Union Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Anurag Thakur on Thursday delivered a scathing response to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s statement that they will attend the ICC World Cup in India next year.
- Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has said that India’s contribution to cricket cannot be ignored and all the top teams will attend the ICC World Cup next year. His response came a day after the PCB announced their participation in the event.
- “ODI World Cup will also take place next year in India and all the big teams around the globe will participate. Because, you can’t ignore India in any sport. India has played. contributes a lot to sports, especially cricket. So the World Cup will be held next year, and it will be historic and big event. The Home Office will make a decision because there are concerns about it. security in Pakistan. It’s not just cricket,” Thakur said during an event announcing the Khelo India Youth Games.
- It all started after Asia Cricket Council Director Jay Shah said on Tuesday that India would not be traveling to Pakistan for next year’s Asian Cup and that the tournament could be moved to a neutral venue.
- Jay Shah’s statement led to strong reactions from the Pakistani cricket community. Pakistan has hosted top international teams at home since last year. Teams like Australia and England have been on tour domestically recently.
- The PCB released a strong statement on Wednesday saying Jay Shah’s comments were unilateral and nothing was discussed with the Pakistan Cricket Council.
- The board also stated that moving the Asia Cup out of Pakistan could split the international cricket community and also create doubts about Pakistan’s participation in next year’s ICC World Cup in India.
- The PCB said: “The overall impact of such statements is likely to divide the Asian and international ticketing communities, and could affect Pakistan’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle”. its statement.
- India last visited Pakistan for a bilateral series in 2005-06 under the leadership of Rahul Dravid.
- India and Pakistan have not played a series of bilateral cricket since 2012-13 when Pakistan toured India with three T20Is and many ODIs.
- India is expected to beat Pakistan in the opening match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday.
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