Any cricket match between Pakistan and India is a roller coaster of emotions for the fans. Imagine the nation’s anxiety when it is the biggest cricket battle, i.e., the ICC World Cup 2023.
A debate has been going on for several months about whether India will come to Pakistan to play the world cup matches. But unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.
India Refuses to Come to Pakistan
According to Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah, India cannot send a team to Pakistan for the tournament, so that it will be relocated to a neutral location.
That raised the big question, should Pakistan go to India to play the world cup matches?
The Pakistani Media has been reporting that Pakistan has agreed to go to India for the cricket world cup. But these rumors were finally quashed by the PCB chairman, Najam Sethi.
Najam Sethi Says It’s Tit for Tat
According to Najam Sethi, the national team’s participation in the ICC World Cup 2023 would be challenging if Pakistan lost its hosting rights.
He has dismissed the possibility of organizing the high-profile India vs. Pakistan match during the 2023 ODI World Cup at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Sethi claimed that the decision was politically motivated and cited security concerns for the Pakistani team in the city.
“When I heard that the Pakistan match was to be in Ahmedabad, I smiled and said to myself – ‘this is one way to make sure we don’t come to India.’
I mean, if you’d said Chennai or Kolkata, it might have made sense,” Najam Sethi told Indian Express.
The Bottomline
“If India now wants to have a neutral venue and accepts the hybrid model [for Asia Cup], then we’ll use the same hybrid model in the World Cup.
Pakistan can play its World Cup matches in Dhaka or any other venue to which India agrees, and similarly in the Champions Trophy. So, all the other countries can come and play in Pakistan, but India can play at a neutral venue. So, this is a model that goes forward and resolves this political logjam,” said Sethi.