• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Maybe If Pakistan Had Given Valid R Ashwins Response To Pcbs Request To Change Venues For Wc Games

'Maybe if Pakistan Had Given Valid...': R Ashwin's Response to PCB's Request to Change Venues For WC Games

image-lj9pwe5eAshwin has questioned Pakistan's tactics [Twitter]

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has postponed the announcement of the World Cup 2023 schedule as discussions between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ICC are taking place to explore the possibility of changing venues for their matches against Afghanistan and Australia.

As part of the schedule drafted for the World Cup, which was then forwarded to all the participating nations, Pakistan are set to play against Australia at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 20 and Afghanistan three days later at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appealed for a venue swap for the two matches without providing any official reason. However, reports suggest that Pakistan's motive behind the request is to ensure they enter each game as the favourites. 

In response to the PCB’s unconventional request, Indian off-spin maestro R Ashwin voiced his doubts about the International Cricket Council (ICC) entertaining PCB's request. 

Here’s what Ashwin said in his YouTube channel: 

“Pakistan, in their request letter itself, have mentioned conditions will favor Afghanistan in Chennai. So, by changing venues, it plays into an advantage for Pakistan. So, I highly doubt that ICC will heed to this request.”

Ashwin further remarked that if the concerns were related to security, the approach would have been handled differently, similar to the incident in 2016 when the Dharamsala encounter between India and Pakistan was shifted to Kolkata.

“Maybe if Pakistan had given some valid security reasons, then it might be shifted. Another important thing. Pakistan’s interesting request to switch venues. The fixture now is Pakistan playing Australia in Bangalore and Afghanistan in Chennai. They want the venues interchanged.” 

“Only for security reasons, ICC will consider these requests. In the 2016 T20 WC, India vs Pakistan was slated to happen in Dharamsala but for security reasons, it got shifted to Kolkata.” 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) are expected to make the official announcement on the fixture on June 27, exactly 100 days before the start of the tournament.