India's decision to not travel to Pakistan has met with a strong response from ex-Pakistani players and Imran Nazir is the latest to join the list. In a conversation on the Nadir Ali Podcast, Nazir stated that India is just afraid of losing in Pakistan and that security reasons are just a cover-up.
He further added that many teams including, but not restricted to Australia have travelled to Pakistan and they haven't faced any issues. He also mentioned that once the parties involved bring politics into the game, there is no turning back.
"There is no security reason. Just look at how many teams have been to Pakistan. Forget A teams, even Australia visited. These are all just cover-ups. The truth is that India won't come to Pakistan [for Asia Cup] because they are afraid of losing. Security is just an excuse. Come and play cricket. When you start playing politics, there is no way back," he said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
As per a report by ESPN Cricinfo, Pakistan is likely to host the venue and India's matches can be held at another overseas venue. The report added that BCCI and PCB are now moving towards a resolution and the two teams - India and Pakistan can face each other outside Pakistan. Though there are no venues confirmed for India's fixture, the games can likely be held in UAE, Oman or Sri Lanka. There can be five matches held at these venues, including two India vs Pakistan contests.
Nazir finished by saying that India cannot tolerate losing a game against Pakistan and added that the entire world, including the cricketers love being part of India vs Pakistan games.
"People want to watch India vs Pakistan games because there is a different level of excitement to it. The entire world knows it. Even we as cricketers feel that for cricket to reach every corner of the world, India-Pakistan matches need to happen. We used to play so much cricket. They are such a balanced tea but India cannot tolerate losing. It's a game; you'll win some, you'll lose some,"
In the first formal meeting between BCCI secretary Jay Shah and PCB chairman Najam Sethi held in Bahrain on February 4, the discussion regarding the venue of Asia Cup 2023 took place but the final decision was withheld.
