Pakistan will not lose sleep over the boycott of cricket matches by India and will wait for an official statement from the Asian Cricket Council on the matter, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said.
The PCB was responding to enquiries after several media outlets reported that India would boycott Asian events in the wake of the cross-border conflict between the two countries.
Indian media on Monday reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has conveyed to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that it will withdraw its team from the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup and Men’s Asia Cup as they allegedly do not want to feature in tournaments organised by a body headed by a Pakistani official.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi heads the ACC. But a few hours later, the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia denied such reports, saying no decision on the upcoming Asian events was discussed by the board.
As soon as the news reached Pakistan, the PCB was bombarded with calls for reaction, but a PCB spokesman told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that no such communication had reached the Board.
Nothing has come to the ACC on India's withdrawal, so we will cross the bridge when it comes.
ACC chief is Mohsin Naqvi, so all the decisions regarding the Asia Cup will be made in meetings which will be chaired by Mr Naqvi.
High-level PCB sources said all expected scenarios on the Asia Cup are under consideration. "Asia Cup is an ACC event, and in case any team pulls out, it needs to be either replaced by another team or the fate of the event will be mutually decided by the ACC Board."
Pakistan have been surviving without playing India since 2013, so this will be nothing new for us. PCB is in good financial health with the Pakistan Super League and television rights of international cricket.
An ACC meeting is likely to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month. India is the host of the event, but it is likely to be shifted to the UAE or Oman as Pakistan will not travel to India under a "fusion agreement" approved ahead of the Champions Trophy this year.
The Indian government had refused to send its team to the host country, Pakistan, over political tension and safety concerns, which forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the event in a hybrid model with India playing its matches in Dubai.
Under the agreement, Pakistan will also not tour India for any ICC event until 2027. India stalled bilateral cricket with Pakistan after the 2008 attacks on Mumbai, blaming it on militants based in Pakistan. The two countries only meet in multi-national events.
The Pakistan women's team will also not tour India for the ODI World Cup in October and instead play their matches on a yet to be decided neutral venue.
