‘People want to see India-Pakistan cricket’- Former Pakistan cricketer takes a dig at Ramiz Raja and Anurag Thakur
The war of words between Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja and sports minister Anurag Thakur started when newly appointed Asian Cricket Council president Jay Shah made it clear that India will not travel to Pakistan for next year’s Asia Cup. Shah said that they would only participate in the tournament if it is held at a neutral venue.
In response to this, Ramiz said, “If Pakistan doesn’t take part in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will watch it? We have a clear stand: If the Indian team comes here then we will go for the World Cup. If they don’t come then they can play the World Cup without us. We will adopt an aggressive approach.” He said on Urdu news.
Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur slammed Raja and said that India is the major authority in the sports world and no one can ignore India.
“Wait for the right time. India is a major power in the world of sports & no country can overlook India.”
‘What can we say’: Salman Butt
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt reacted to the debate between Thakur and Raja and said that the interest will be less if there is no India vs Pakistan match in the major tournament.
“What can we say? One is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief and the other is India’s sports minister. It is not going to happen where one will say vanilla ice cream is good and the other party says chocolate, and vice-versa. Some people use this as a podium and stand on it. The political aspect is always there, but the main issue is the betterment of cricket,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
“Ramiz Raja is right. Those who follow Pakistan cricket and are admirers of the team, their interest level will be less if Pakistan doesn’t play. If the India-Pakistan match doesn’t happen, a lot of people who were making profits would end up suffering losses. In a true sense, people want to see India-Pakistan cricket. They want India to come to Pakistan and Pakistan to go to India. They want improvement in relationships,” Butt added.
