Pakistan may pull out of the 2023 Asia Cup if its hosting rights are taken away, says former captain Ramiz Raja. Raja was speaking in response to recent speculation that the tournament could be held at a neutral venue instead of Pakistan.
“If the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) takes the decision to not allow Pakistan to host the Asia Cup, I think it would be a very sad day for cricket,” Raja said. He added that Pakistan has been a “great host” for cricket tournaments in the past and that its players and fans “deserve to see some cricket action on home soil”. The 2023 Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in September-October.
“It is not as if we do not have hosting rights and we are pleading to host it,” Ramiz was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo sidelines of the Pakistan-England Test in Rawalpindi. “We won the rights fair and square. If India does not come, they would not come. If the Asia Cup gets taken away from Pakistan, maybe we are the ones that pull out,” he added.
“It is an internal matter of BCCI and it will handle the issue smartly. We have not done anything wrong yet while hosting international tournaments before. We have hosted World Cup successfully before and all teams participated happily. We will host the tournament next year and all teams will play in it,” Thakur had said in October.
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