Just to refresh his memory..: Shahid Afridi Hits Back At Jay Shah After Latter's Remarks On Security Situation In Pakistan
Published - 07 Sep 2023, 11:28 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 09:46 AM
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has hit back at BCCI secretary and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chairman Jay Shah for the latter’s recent remarks on security situation in Pakistan.
The ACC as well as the BCCI are facing the heat from the cricketing fraternity for choosing Sri Lanka as the neutral venue for the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. While Pakistan were given the hosting rights for the continental championship, Sri Lanka were picked as the neutral venue after India declined to travel to Pakistan due to the poor bilateral relation.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had proposed UAE as the neutral venue but the ACC eventually picked Sri Lanka despite the big threat of rain at this time of the year. And the decision has backfired so far. The high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan was washed out while the weather forecast for the upcoming Super 4 games and the final is not promising either.
And the cricketing fraternity has slammed the ACC for such poor planning. Following the backlash, Jay Shah recently cited the reason behind deciding to shift most of the Asia Cup games from Pakistan to Sri Lanka, saying:
“All the full members, media rights holders, and in-stadium rights holders were initially hesitant to commit to hosting the entire tournament in Pakistan. This reluctance stemmed from concerns related to the security and economic situation prevailing in the country.”
“In my capacity as ACC president, I was committed to finding a viable and mutually agreeable solution. To this end, I had accepted the hybrid model that was proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in collaboration with the ACC management,” he added.
Shahid Afridi hits back at Jay Shah:
With Jay Shah expressing his concerns over the security situation in Pakistan, Shahid Afridi has taken a shot at him. The Pakistan great took to X (formerly Twitter) to present a list of the teams that have visited Pakistan in recent years.
In the wake of the horrific attack on the Sri Lankan team bus outside the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore in 2009, international cricket was suspended in Pakistan for almost a decade. However, they have been hosting international teams regularly from 2017 although India have not visited the country since 2008.
Expressing his disappointment over Jay Shah’s comments, Shahid Afridi wrote: “I came across Mr
@JayShah’s statement about security situation in Pakistan. Just to refresh his memory, Pakistan has hosted the following foreign players/teams in the past six years:
2017 – ICC World XI & SL
2018 – WI
2019 – WI (W), BD (W) & SL
2020 – BD, PSL, MCC & Zim
2021 – WI, PSL, SA & WI
2022 – Aus, PSL, WI, BD U19, Ireland (W) & Eng (2),
2023 – NZ (2), PSL, Women’s Exhibition Matches, #AsiaCup2023 (Nep, SL, Afg & BD) & SA (W).”
He further stated that Pakistan are ready to host India in 2025 for the Champions Trophy, writing: “Have no doubts Mr Shah, Pakistan is ready to host @BCCI at the #ICCChampionsTrophy2025“
2017 – ICC World XI & SL
2018 – WI
2019 – WI (W), BD (W) & SL
2020 – BD, PSL, MCC & Zim
2021 –…
