Shahid Afridi has stated that Indian fans want to see Pakistani cricketers play in India at the earliest, as bilateral ties between the two countries have been suspended for nearly ten years. Pakistan last played a bilateral series in India in January 2013, and both teams have only played once in India since then, in the 20-20 World Cup in 2016 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
According to the former cricketer, the Indian audience would welcome cricketers from across the border because they are big fans. “The relations between Pakistan and India have always improved due to cricket. Indians want to see Pakistan play cricket in India,” Afridi was quoted as saying by CricPakistan.com.
Afridi’s comments come after both boards have been neck-and-neck over the 2023 Asia Cup, with the Indian Cricket Board Secretary Jay Shah stating in October that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament. This prompted PCB chief Ramiz Raja to respond in kind, stating that if the Indian Cricket Board does not change its stance, the PCB will withdraw from the 2023 ODI World Cup.
I was shocked: Shahid Afridi
In the meantime, Afridi reacted angrily to PCB chairman Ramiz Raja’s comments about the Rawalpindi pitch for the first Test against England. On the first day of the match, England scored over 500 runs emphatically while Pakistan bowlers struggled miserably against a counter-attacking batting approach.
Raja revealed that Pakistan has yet to crack the code for creating an ideal Test-match pitch. Afridi was unimpressed with the PCB chairman’s remarks, claiming that Pakistan has been hosting international matches for a long time and that Raja’s statement surprised him.
“The way Ramiz was speaking, I mean I was shocked to listen to him saying that we cannot make tracks like these. International matches have been going on in Pakistan for such a long time but then we say stuff like these. Ramiz said that he wanted a turning track I feel in this weather it would have been something big,” Afridi told Samaa TV.
