Injustice has been done to Bangladesh: PCB chairman

Bangla Press Desk: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi believes injustice has been dished out to Bangladesh after media reports claimed on Saturday that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had replaced the Tigers with Scotland in Group C of the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The PCB boss further said Pakistan’s participation in the forthcoming 10th edition of the flagship ICC event would hinge on the green signal of the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“Injustice is being done to Bangladesh, and they must be allowed to play in the World Cup under all circumstances. They are a major stakeholder, and this injustice should not happen to them,” the PCB chief told the media on Saturday.

Regarding doubts over Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, scheduled for 7 February-8 March in India and Sri Lanka, the PCB supremo said, “Our stance will be the same as whatever the government of Pakistan instructs us to do. We will follow that. Currently, the Prime Minister is not in Pakistan. When he returns, we will provide you with the final decision after consulting him.”

“We are more accountable to the government of Pakistan than to the ICC, so we must do what the government says,” he added.

Saturday’s decision by the ICC has now ended days of uncertainty in the Bangladesh cricket arena. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was engaged in back-and-forth discussions with world cricket’s regulatory body to resolve the issue after Bangladesh requested to play their games in Sri Lanka instead of India due to the current tension between the two nations.

However, much to Bangladesh’s dismay, the ICC has now finally decided to replace the Tigers with Scotland with the impact likely to be felt by the BCB, national team players, and the tournament’s broader commercial ecosystem.

When queried by the reporters if Bangladesh could have been offered a hybrid model, a similar one used between Pakistan and India, Naqvi informed, “Look, Bangladesh is a (Full) Member just like Pakistan. Our stance is that if you've given this favour to Pakistan and India, then do the same for Bangladesh. The main reason is that one country cannot dictate to others.”

“I said the same thing in the ICC Board meeting: you cannot have double standards—making one decision for one country whenever you please and a totally opposite decision for another country. That is why we took this stand,” he noted.

The PCB chairman concluded by saying that they have a few plans up their sleeve in the event of Pakistan boycotting the tournament and if they are replaced by another team, much like how Bangladesh made way for Scotland. “Let the (government) decision come first. After that, we have many plans—Plan A, B, C, and D.”

BP/SP