Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has blamed the Indian government for the cricket relations between India and Pakistan.
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India-Pakistan cricket matches are always hit on the box-office but these enthralling encounters are now just limited to ICC (International Cricket Council) tournaments. Gone are the days when both sides used to play in bilateral cricket across formats.
Primarily due to long-standing sour geo-political relations between both the countries, India and Pakistan don’t get to face each other more often. It is due to the same reason that Pakistani players aren’t allowed to play in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.
In addition to the political tension, another factor which affects relations is some former cricketers issuing controversial comments on record.
India and Pakistan had last faced each other during the ICC ICC T20 World Cup 2021 where Pakistan had defeated India by a thumping 10-wicket margin in Dubai.
Imran Khan blames Indian government for India-Pakistan cricket relations
Former Pakistan captain and current Prime Minister Imran Khan has added to the list of controversial statements by launching an verbal attack on the Indian government.
Being asked about an update regarding the resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral series during a media interaction, Imran accused the current Indian government of preaching “racial superiority” and hating the minority communities.
“India right now has a racist Hindutva regime preaching racial superiority and hatred for minorities, especially Muslims,” Imran Khan told reporters in Pakistan. “Hence there is no forward movement in relations of Pakistan and India and so cricket is also affected.”
The profitability of an India-Pakistan encounter is such that ICC makes it a point to place both the teams in the same pool in global events in order to have at least one contest between the arch-rivals.
India will next face Pakistan in a league match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. The game will be played on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The tickets for the same have already been sold out.
