Travelling to Pakistan for Asia Cup not BCCI call, have to rely on government: Roger Binny
Oct 20, 2022
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 20 : Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny said on Thursday that the board does not take decisions on its own on Indian team's travel to Pakistan or other countries and relies on the decision of the government.
"That is not our call. We cannot say where our team has to go. We need to take clearance from the government if we leave the country, or other countries come here. We cannot take that decision on our own, we have to rely on government," Binny said on team India's travel to Pakistan for Asia Cup.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah had told reporters on Saturday after the board's 91st AGM that it is the government which decides over the permission of the team visiting Pakistan and noted that for 2023 Asia Cup it's decided that the tournament will be held at some neutral venue.
"We will have Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue. It is the government which decides over the permission of the team visiting Pakistan so we would not comment on that but for the 2023 Asia Cup it's decided that the tournament will be held at some neutral venue," he had said.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had responded to Jay Shah's comments and said such a decision could affect Pakistan visiting India for the 50-over World Cup next year.
"The overall impact of such statements has the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities and can impact Pakistan's visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC Events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle." PCB statement said.
Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that the BCCI will look into the statement made by PCB and that India will host the 2023 Cricket World Cup with all countries.
"It's a matter of BCCI and the board will look into it to make comments. India is a land of sports, where not only one but many World Cups have been hosted and the next World Cup too will be hosted in India with teams from around the world participating in it. India cannot be ignored in any sector. It has contributed a lot to the world of cricket and the World Cup will be grand, historic and successful," said Thakur while speaking at the announcement ceremony for the upcoming Khelo India Youth Games.
"It is an internal matter of BCCI and it will handle the issue smartly. We have not done anything wrong yet while hosting international tournaments before. We have hosted World Cup successfully before and all teams participated happily. We will host the tournament next year and all teams will play in it," said Thakur.
