The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) responded to MickeyArthur’s remarks about “Dil Dil Pakistan.” They explained that the songwasn’t played due to the absence of Pakistani fans at the venue. Inresponse to Indian media queries about Arthur’s comments, a BCCI officialstated that such songs are played when there are fans in the stadium, butsince there were no Pakistani fans present, it wasn’t played.
These comments from the BCCI official came after Pakistan’s cricket teamdirector complained during a post-match press conference, expressingdisappointment in not hearing “Dil Dil Pakistan” and describing theatmosphere as one-sided, referring to the contest as a “BCCI event.”Arthur, Pakistan’s cricket team director, elaborated on this, stating thatit didn’t feel like an ICC event and seemed more like a bilateral series ora BCCI-hosted event.
Arthur’s comments did not sit well with the Indian media, and they reactedstrongly to his “BCCI event” remarks. Responding to Arthur’s statementsabout “Dil Dil Pakistan,” the BCCI official raised the question of whenthey should have played the song, suggesting moments during the match whencritical events occurred, such as when players like Babar and Rizwan gotbowled or when Rohit Sharma hit a six off Shaheen Afridi.
According to the Indian media, Arthur wanted to discuss the matter furtherbut refrained from doing so due to fears of potential penalties.
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Arthur’s comments were later echoed by Pakistan’s head coach, GrantBradburn, who expressed sadness about the absence of Pakistani supporters,calling it an unusual situation. Bradburn mentioned that both Pakistan andIndian cricket fans would appreciate having supporters from both sides atthe venue.