“Bangladesh has been treated unfairly”: Mohsin Naqvi says Pakistan T20I World Cup participation to be decided by government

A month of standstill between ICC, BCB and BCCI finally came to an end as Bangladesh has been officially replaced by Scotland in Group C of the T20I World Cup. This came after Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to play their matches in India, citing safety concerns following Mustafizur Rehman’s removal from IPL.

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Mohsin Naqvi has lashed out at ICC and BCCI for unfairly treating their Asian neighbor, Bangladesh. Mohsin has also stated that Pakistan’s involvement in the tournament would come down to the Prime Minister’s decision.

Mohsin Naqvi slammed the double standards of ICC to favor the BCCI. He argued that if India and Pakistan can play their round-robin matches in Sri Lanka, then an exception could have been made for Bangladesh as well, which Mohsin believes is a major stakeholder in world cricket.

“We are waiting for the prime minister to return. Bangladesh has been treated unfairly. I said the same in the board meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC). You cannot have double standards, where one country can make whatever decision whenever and do the total opposite for another country. That is why we have taken the stand that Bangladesh is being treated unfairly and should be allowed to play the World Cup in any case. They are a major stakeholder, and this injustice should not be done. The thing is that Bangladesh is the same member as Pakistan. And our stance is that if you have done this favour with Pakistan and India, then you should do the same with Bangladesh. The main reason for this is that one country cannot dictate to another. And if this dictation is attempted, then Pakistan definitely has its own stance,” he said while speaking to reporters in Lahore as quoted by Dawn.

This brings a fresh matter of controversy for the upcoming edition of the T20I World Cup. If Pakistan end up pulling out of the tournament, this would mean that two Asian sides will be replaced in the tournament.