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The India and Pakistan cricketing boards have been involved in a massive controversy which sprouted after Jay Shah, the BCCI board's secretary and the P resident of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) confirmed that India won't travel to Pakistan for the next edition of Asia Cup in 2023 and that it will be hosted in a neutral venue.
Pakistan wasn’t happy with these statements and sent a strongly-worded letter, through which the PCB threatened to pull out of the ODI World Cup in India next year. Reacting to this situation, former India batter Aakash Chopra made some strong comments calling out the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Chopra, while talking on his YouTube channel, talked about how the Asia Cup may not go through without India. He also addressed how missing the World Cup could cause a massive financial issue for Pakistan.
He said, “Asia Cup might not happen at all if India don’t participate, there's no chance. The Asia Cup is a minor tournament compared to the world cup. Skipping the World Cup means you will end up forgoing a massive amount of revenue that ICC shares (with the participating nations). It’s a case of who blinks first. So I’m not taking this seriously. I feel the Asia Cup 2023 will be held and at a neutral venue."
Chopra further talked about how the Indian Cricket Board doesn’t take any amount of money from the ACC and BCCI plays a big brother role in Asian Cricket. He said, "Of course, ACC is a consortium. But few are aware of the fact that India doesn’t take a penny from ACC. Everybody takes a certain amount from the (ACC) coffer whether 4 million or 8 million but India ends up distributing their amount instead.”
“India has been playing the role of a big brother in ACC. If it has been said that the team might not travel to Pakistan, then I can give you this in writing that India won’t. The Asia Cup will also be held at a neutral venue. And Pakistan will also definitely come to play in the World Cup (in India)... Take all this from in writing. All these things are guaranteed," he added.