One of the teams anticipated to compete in the ODI World Cup, which will be held completely in India for the first time, is Pakistan. Although their latest Asia Cup campaign wasn’t particularly noteworthy, the “Men in Green” will always be one of the teams to watch in sub-continental circumstances. On September 27, Captain Babar Azam and his crew arrived in Hyderabad to take part in the highlight event. They received a warm greeting from Indian cricket fans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, and players like Babar and Shaheen Afridi expressed their gratitude for it on their social media accounts.
Zaka Ashraf, the chairwoman of the Management Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), made a contentious statement during an interview to cause a great commotion when cricket was just beginning to take baby measures to reconcile the rocky relationship between the two neighboring countries.
Zaka Ashraf discussed offering hefty contracts to Pakistani players in a widely seen video. However, during the conversation, he made reference to Pakistan visiting a “enemy country” by the term “Dushman mulk.”
“With love and affection, we awarded our guys these contracts. Never before in Pakistan’s history have players received such a large sum of money. My goal was to boost the players’ spirits while they traveled to hostile nations for tournaments, including ‘Dushman Mulk,’ the 71-year-old remarked in the video.
One side, Pakistan cricket team received enthusiastic welcome in India.
Other side, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf termed India as “Dushman Mulk” (enemy country).
So, no matter what we do, Pakistan’s mentality & agenda is clear. pic.twitter.com/oUbz8MYsl5
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) September 28, 2023
Not just Indian fans, but also Pakistani fans, have harshly criticized Ashraf for his despicable and disrespectful comments.
Pakistan takes face New Zealand in its opening exhibition game on Friday, September 29.
On September 29 and October 3, respectively, the 1992 World Cup champions will play exhibition games against New Zealand and Australia. These two matches will both take place in Hyderabad.
Pakistan’s campaign in the main tournament will get underway on October 6 in Hyderabad after the warm-up games against qualifiers Netherlands. On October 14, the eagerly anticipated India-Pakistan match will take place in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.