It is about the year 2021. Rameez Raja used to be the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board. During a meeting, he had said in the presence of dozens of people that if India wants, it can destroy the Pakistan Cricket Board. Rameez Raja’s logic behind this was that 90 percent of ICC’s earnings come from Indian companies. In such a situation, if India wants, it can ‘collapse’ the Pakistan Cricket Board. Today is the time to remember this statement because the current PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is not ready to face this bitter truth. Regarding hosting the Champions Trophy, he is adamant that the entire tournament will be held in Pakistan only. They are not agreeing to the proposal of hybrid model i.e. hosting the tournament in two countries. The problem is that Mohsin Naqvi is not understanding that on the day BCCI wants, this tournament will be ‘shifted’ to some other country instead of Pakistan. It is a different matter that the Board of Control for Cricket in India never had such intention.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has always maintained good relations with all the boards around the world. BCCI, being the richest board in the world, helped every board. Played a ‘bilateral’ series with him so that his financial condition could improve. The truth is that after the attack on the Sri Lankan team, if BCCI had wanted, Pakistan would not have got to host any major tournament. But BCCI never did this. His stand was clear on one issue that the Indian team would not go to Pakistan. The stand is the same this time also.
Has PCB also forgotten the rules and regulations?
The latest statement of the spokesperson of Pakistan Cricket Board is surprising. He says that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has not given any reason for its decision. Apart from this, he did not tell anything to us i.e. Pakistan Cricket Board. Now who will tell this spokesperson that Champions Trophy is not a ‘bilateral’ event where one board will contact the other board. This is an ICC event and BCCI has clearly told this to ICC. BCCI has not only expressed its views clearly but has also alerted ICC in time.
This spokesperson will also have to understand that there are no 36 reasons for India not going to Pakistan which will have to be given again and again. There is only one reason to stop spreading terrorism in India from Pakistan’s soil. For this reason India had stopped going to Pakistan. Even now the reason remains the same. Let us tell you that the Indian team has not gone on a tour of Pakistan since 2008. Earlier, when this series had started in 2004, that too had started only after a long gap of 14 years. But then this initiative was not taken by BCCI or PCB but by the governments of India and Pakistan. This is called cricket diplomacy which has been going on between India and Pakistan in earlier times also. Before Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Nawaz Sharif, during the time of Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto, this diplomacy has added warmth to cricket relations.
Now Jay Shah will also take charge of ICC
Current BCCI Secretary Jay Shah will take over the responsibility of ICC Chairman in December. Even after this, it is not that being from India, he will do any ‘favour’ to BCCI, rather he will take the decision on the same formula which he had used for the Asia Cup. Let us remind you that Pakistan also got the hosting of Asia Cup in 2023. Jai Shah used to be the head of the Asian Cricket Council. Even then, it was on his initiative that Sri Lanka was made the host along with Pakistan. Now Jay Shah is in a more powerful position. He is well aware of the feelings of the Indian government and the Indian cricket fans. In such a situation, only two options are left for them. Firstly, they should prepare the Pakistan Cricket Board for the hybrid model and secondly, they should hand over the hosting of the Champions Trophy to some other country. Countries like Sri Lanka or UAE will be ready for this. Or we can say that whichever country ICC makes this ‘offer’ to will be ready. In such a situation, the loss will be of Pakistan Cricket Board only.
It is also important to understand that Pakistan has rebuilt all its stadiums for the Champions Trophy. Billions of rupees have been spent for this. Cricket fans in Pakistan are hopeful that after a long time they will get a chance to watch matches of big ICC tournaments. In such a situation, the head of Pakistan Cricket Board should understand that this is not the time to show arrogance but to organize the matches of this tournament well. By doing this, it can not only improve its reputation but can also assure that it has the capability to host big tournaments. But for all this, first of all he has to give up the arrogance that goes to his head. This is such arrogance that the head of Pakistan Cricket Board even threatens from time to time that if the Indian team does not come to Pakistan, then the Pakistan team will also not go to the ICC events held in India in future. They should heed the words of Rameez Raja, who sat on his own chair three years ago. Perhaps the betterment of Pakistan Cricket Board lies in this.