Amid reports of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025, former India cricketer Atul Wassan expressed his frustration that the issue comes up whenever it has already been decided that India doesn’t want to travel to Pakistan.

It has been reported that the BCCI have informed the ICC that India would not travel to Pakistan for the mega event and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sought the guidance of the federal government. “This is a dictum by a government and our management and it is something that everybody is on the same page that we don’t want to play with them (Pakistan) in their home. No matter how much pressure PCB tries to create, the decision has already been made once and for all. Every time this comes up, I wonder why it’s even discussed again when everything is clear. They know we’re not going there, and we know we’re not going to Pakistan,” Wassan told IANS.

During the 2023 ODI World Cup, Pakistan voiced displeasure at travelling to India, yet participated. “When the World Cup was in India, they said that if India doesn’t come, then they won’t come to India either. Such bold statements shouldn’t be made because they have a need to come here; we don’t need to go there,” he added.

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has consistently asserted that if India wants to play against Pakistan, it should be prepared to travel to Pakistan. However, India’s security concerns and the ongoing geopolitical tensions have reinforced its hesitation to participate in matches on Pakistani soil. “When we face hardship, when we are attacked when we have lost so many of our soldiers, and then we start playing cricket, it sends the message that everything is fine. They think cricket is a way to show that no matter what happens if we’re playing, there are no issues. But we have taken that from them by deciding not to play cricket with them,” he concluded.

-IANS

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The post Former Indian Cricketer Atul Wassan Slams Ongoing Debate Over India’s Refusal To Travel Pakistan For Champions Trophy 2025 appeared first on The Commune.

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition came to an end and the trophy was lifted Chennai Super Kings (CSK), beating the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Dubai on Friday (October 15), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had extended the invitation to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja during the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Executive Board meeting.

At the ACC meeting, Ganguly extended an invitation to Ramiz Raja to watch which the PCB Chairman refused since Pakistani cricketers are not allowed to play in the IPL which is a matter of great frustration and anger because the IPL is the most lucrative cricket tournament in the world.

Also, it has also been reported that both heads of their respective cricket boards discussed several areas of common interest for both during this meeting as India and Pakistan will face each other on October 24 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is concerned, and the much-awaited game will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Recently Ramiz Raja gave a statement in which he said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the power to destroy Pakistan cricket because PCB receives 50 per cent of its funding from the ICC, and the latter is funded 90 per cent  by BCCI’.

The last time the two teams had faced off against each other was in 2016 T20 World Cup on March 19, and India had defeated Pakistan with 6 wickets to spare in that encounter.

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In a swift response, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it very clear to former Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that any International cricketer participating in Pakistan sponsored Kashmir Premier League will not be allowed to enter India and participate in any of form Cricket tournament.

“While one can neither confirm or deny the veracity of the statement made by a former player who has figured in a CBI investigation into match-fixing earlier, the PCB must understand that even if Gibb’s statement is assumed to be true, the BCCI would be well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India. The fact that the Indian cricketing ecosystem is the most sought after for cricketing opportunities globally, should not be envied by the PCB,” a BCCI official told ANI.

“PCB is coming across as confused. Just the way the decision to not allow players of Pakistani origin to participate in the IPL cannot be construed as interfering in the internal affairs of an ICC member, the decision, if any, to allow or disallow anyone from participating in any manner with cricket within India is purely an internal matter of the BCCI,” the official added.

The BCCI made it very clear that it is well within its rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in the country and Pakistan Cricket Board has every right to take up the matter with the International Cricket Council. However, it is very clear what is the true intention of the Pakistan board in behaving this way, and what is motivating their actions.

“They are welcome to raise the matter at the ICC and one can understand where this is coming from but the question that they need to ask themselves is whether it is on account of government interference in their working since the PM of Pakistan is officially their Patron as per their own constitution. It is time to consider whether this issue also ought to be raised at the ICC,” said the official.

However, Gibbs criticised the Indian board for allegedly stopping him to play in the Kashmir Premier League, and in a tweet he said, “Completely unnecessary of the @BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the @kpl_20. Also threatening me saying they won`t allow me entry into India for any cricket related work. Ludicrous.”

After this, the PCB also issued a statement, saying: “The PCB believes the BCCI has once again breached international norms and the spirit of the gentleman`s game by interfering in internal affairs of the ICC Members as the KPL has been approved by the PCB.”

Not impressed by this statement, the BCCI official added, “The PCB would do well to peruse the ICC`s classification of official cricket. In the eventuality that a retired player is participating as a player in a tournament, it would not quite be official cricket and any permission granted would be moot. I am not really sure how they are reading this to mean what they are intending it to mean, but then the PCB`s positioning is always bemusing. They should allow cricket to entertain rather than their decision making.”

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