Former wicket-keeper batter Rashid Latif says if had the ability he wouldn’t let Pakistan play in opposition to India in any event and likewise advised that ICC shouldn’t grant the internet hosting rights of world occasions to each nations till they resolve their points. The BCCI has refused to ship its group to Pakistan for the upcoming Champions Trophy and there hypothesis that your complete event could possibly be moved in another country. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has written to the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) asking for a written affirmation from the BCCI for India’s lack of ability to journey to Pakistan for the event.
“There is a massive risk that Pakistan can cease enjoying cricket in opposition to India. Had I been in energy, then, sure, I could have taken this robust step. I might not blame anybody for this. In case you do not wish to play (in Pakistan), then do not play in opposition to us (in any respect),” Latif, identified for his plain converse, advised PTI Movies.
“If I might have been there, I might have taken this choice, and fought in opposition to the BCCI.” He advised that the ICC must also cease giving main tournaments to each India and Pakistan until points are resolved.
“In my view, ICC ought to withhold the internet hosting rights for each nations till these points between them are resolved; till their issues are settled,” mentioned the previous wicketkeeper-batter who performed 37 Assessments and 166 ODIs.
Touching upon the difficulty of political interference in cricket, notably in Asia, Latif referred to the ban imposed on Sri Lanka (in 2023) and Zimbabwe (in 2019) by the ICC and questioned why the worldwide physique was lenient in the direction of India and Pakistan.
The ICC had suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in November final yr for alleged political interference within the administration of the game within the nation. The suspension was lifted in January this yr.
“Why aren’t India and Pakistan getting banned? As a result of, ICC has quite a lot of stake on them,” he mentioned.
The previous cricketer criticised BCCI’s stance concerning safety issues for the Indian group in Pakistan, saying the ICC’s safety group had assessed his nation and deemed it protected.
“That is the primary time, I might say, the BCCI is at fault. The rationale they’re stating may be very weak. It must be in writing that the BCCI and the Indian cricket group is feeling threatened.
“The ICC safety group got here right here and gave the inexperienced mild for the event. In case you had points, you can have reported to them,” he mentioned.
On whether or not Pakistan will withdraw from the Champions Trophy if the event is shifted elsewhere, the veteran mentioned, “No person has seen it on paper. It must be written down on a bit of paper. We had a phrase with the PCB (and) they mentioned they’ve despatched an e-mail to the Pakistan authorities concerning this. It is a severe authorized challenge, no one is prepared to present it in writing.”
Latif was assured that lack of matches with India wouldn’t hamper Pakistan cricket’s progress.
“We did not play at dwelling for 12 lengthy years. What could possibly be extra painful than that? Pakistan will get the 34 million {dollars} in each eight-year time (from ICC), whether or not they play India or not. The boards which might be wealthy will endure losses, not a board like PCB that does not have the cash.
“Pakistan can survive enjoying bilateral sequence even when they do not play main ICC tournaments.”
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