By Zain Ali Khan:
The T20 World Cup being played in India and Sri Lanka has been in the news for several days and fans as well as former cricketers and commentators have been expressing their views on the controversies related to it. First, there was talk of Bangladesh refusing to play in India and negotiations were underway between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Ultimately, Bangladesh’s demand was not accepted, and Scotland was included in the event instead.
After this, Pakistan refused to play its match against India during the T20 World Cup in support of Bangladesh, on which the ICC warned of the ‘long-term consequences’ and asked Pakistan to review the decision.
Speaking about the crisis, former England team captain Nasser Hussain has supported Pakistan and Bangladesh, for which he is facing criticism in India. Nasir Hussain said, “What would the ICC do if India had demanded a change of venue instead of Bangladesh? Would the ICC have also thrown India out of the event? The ICC will have to deal with Bangladesh and Pakistan equally, just like India.” The former England captain said, “Bangladesh is standing by its word, they stood up for their player. Pakistan did a good job by supporting Bangladesh. Someone must stand up and say, ‘Enough with politics, let’s play cricket now.’ He added, “You never shake hands, you never take trophies. If your reaction to Pakistan and Bangladesh continues like this, cricket will be destroyed. Another former England captain, Michael Atherton, who was part of the same podcast, also criticised the Jay Shah-led ICC and accused it of being biased in favour of India and the BCCI. He stressed that ‘Bangladesh’s demand was also valid because India was allowed to play at a neutral venue during the Champions Trophy 2025.’
‘You have to go back to the time of the Champions Trophy because India did not go to Pakistan, which was the host of the event, and then India was given the concession to play all its matches in Dubai. He said that ‘this concession has not been given to other teams in the past who have opted out of international matches.’
Former England player Mark Butcher said, “If this match does not happen, it will be a big disaster for India, which is the co-host of the T20 World Cup, and for the ICC, because this competition is very important financially.” He added, “India has always done its own thing in cricket and Pakistan has had to put up with it, but this time the situation is different where a tougher path has been taken by Pakistan.”
Former Australian cricketer Brett Lee has also expressed similar mixed views.
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