Afridi Speaks Out Against India-Pakistan Asia Cup Conflict: Emphasizes Peaceful Exchange: Speaking at a news conference before the Legends League Cricket (LLC) final in Doha, Pakistan skipper, Shahid Afridi, has requested BCCI to allow team India to tour Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. This comes after the BCCI chief, Jay Shah, claimed that if India were to participate in the game, Asia Cup 2023 has to be shifted out of Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board and BCCI have been locking horns since the news came into light with the former claiming that if the Asia Cup is moved out to a neutral location then they will not be participating in the ODI world Cup 2023 to be held in India.
Commenting on the situation on both sides of the border, Pakistani Skipper, who shares a huge fan following across borders, said, “It would have been really nice if India had come. It would have been a step towards Cricket and Pakistan for India. This is not the generation of wars and fights. We want relationships to get better,”.
“As far as the security concern in Pakistan is concerned, we had many international teams traveling here recently. We used to face security threats from India as well, but if permission is received from the government of both countries then the tour will happen. If the tour doesn’t happen, we will give those people a chance. All they want is that there should be no cricket between them,” he added.
He urged the BCCI to take responsibility for improving the relationship between the two nations and that the Indian cricket team have no security threat in Pakistan.
“What can we do if we want to befriend someone and he does not talk to us? There is no doubt that the BCCI is a very strong board, but when you are strong, you have more responsibility. You don’t try to make more enemies, you need to make friends.” urged Shahid Afridi. India last travelled to Pakistan in 2008 and since 2012-2013, the two teams haven’t played each other in any bilateral series.