The ICC unveiled the schedule for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India from October 5 to November 19. Initially, the BCCI proposed a draft schedule that had Pakistan playing Australia in Bengaluru and Afghanistan in Chennai. However, the PCB requested a venue swap for these matches, which was not approved by the ICC in the final schedule. Kamran Akmal, the former Pakistani wicketkeeper, criticized these requests as “excuses” that portrayed the former champions in a negative light.
“Conditions, venues shouldn’t be a concern for teams anymore. These things shouldn’t happen in international cricket. Today, India beat Australia, South Africa, New Zealand on their own turf. We shouldn’t be making excuses like why we are playing against Afghanistan in Chennai, or India in Ahmedabad. Furthermore, your focus should be on cricket only,”
Akmal said.
“It’s my request to board members, stop doing making such low-standard requests. The level of international cricket has advanced now. Also players should be proud of their achievements, they should know what the fans and the board expect from them. You shouldn’t say such things and instead pull down the level of your cricket,”
he further added.
‘You ask Pakistani players, they don’t care wherever their schedule comes’ – Wasim Akram echoes Kamran Akmal
“There’s no issue with it. Pakistan will play wherever they are assigned to play. Simple. This unnecessary stress of ‘we won’t play in Ahmedabad’…you ask Pakistani players, they don’t care wherever their schedule comes,”
Akram said.
The PCB also made a request to the ICC regarding the venue for a potential Pakistan-India semifinal match. They asked for the match to be held in Kolkata instead of Mumbai. Furthermore, reports suggest that the ICC has accepted this request, which means that if the scenario arises, Mumbai and Kolkata might exchange the semifinal matches between them.
Follow us on Twitter for more!
