ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Cricket Board rejects Indian media reports of absenceof Pakistani cricketers from the Asia XI.
Cricket fans might see Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli leading the way whenWorld XI takes on Asia XI in a two-match T20 series in Bangladesh nextmonth.
The series, scheduled to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangladesh’sfounding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will see cricket stars from acrossthe world in action. The matches will be played on March 18 and 21 at theSher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka.——————————
However, the action-packed series will feel a bit dull in the absence ofplayers from Pakistan, the No. 1 T20 side. The word was that Pakistan’swhite-ball captain and top T20 batsman, Babar Azam, and seasonedall-rounder, Shoaib Malik, will be part of the Asian squad.
It later turned out that no Pakistani player was included when the BCBpresident, Nazmul Hassan, announced the squad in Dhaka. The rumor had itthat it was because of the tensed relations between Pakistan and India;however, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) discarded the notion.
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A PCB spokesperson confirmed that it was not the Pak-India rivalry but thepacked schedule of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), which concludeson March 22.——————————
The T20Is between World XI and Asia XI were scheduled from March 16-20(tentative dates), while the PSL 2020 is likely to end on March 22.
Since the dates of both the series couldn’t be changed, we offered ourregrets to the BCB, both verbally and in writing, which they understood andaccepted.
