The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in India, Anurag Singh Thakur, hasmade a U-turn on his statement regarding the Asia Cup 2023, scheduled totake place in Pakistan.
Anurag Singh Thakur stated that the responsibility of deciding whetherIndia will participate in the Asia Cup has been shifted to the Board ofControl for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The Sports Minister clarified that the cricket authority would decidewhether to send its team to Pakistan, following which the Ministry of HomeAffairs would make a final decision.
Last December, Anurag Thakur had stated that the Indian Home Ministry wouldmake the decision to send the Men in Blue to Pakistan due to securityconcerns in the country.
“It is not just a game of cricket. Other teams like England, Australia, andSouth Africa have traveled to Pakistan, but can they be compared to India?”said Thakur at that time.
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The statement came at a time when tensions between the two countries wererunning high, with India refusing to send its team for the event due tosecurity reasons.
Earlier this year, it was reported that India has expressed interest inshifting the Asia Cup to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or only shiftingIndian matches to neutral venues.
It is worth mentioning that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has alsothreatened to withdraw from the ODI World Cup 2023, which is scheduled tobe held in India later this year
