There were a lot of questions as to whether the Indian team will travel to Pakistan to take part in the Asia Cup 2023. The BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that India will not be traveling to Pakistan.
“We'll have Asia Cup 2023 at a neutral venue. It's the govt that decides over the permission of our team visiting Pakistan so we won't comment on that but for the 2023 Asia Cup, it is decided that the tournament will be held at a neutral venue”, said Jay Shah.
It was under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid when the Indian team had last visited Pakistan for a bilateral series in 2005-06. India and Pakistan have not locked horns in a bilateral cricket series since 2012-13. Both the teams have only faced each other in ICC events and Asia Cup.
India-Pakistan matches are always highly rated as the stadiums go housefull. In the T20 World Cup 2022, India will play Pakistan on October 23 at Melbourne Cricket Ground in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan has been doing well against India as they outplayed them in the T20 World Cup last year in the UAE.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja recently told Dawn News, “These are games are more about the mentality, rather than skill and talent. Even small teams can beat big teams, if they have the temperament of not giving up. Pakistan have always been the underdogs heading into (World Cup) games against India. But, they have started to give us respect, of late. Earlier, they thought that Pakistan can't beat them”.
"So we should give credit to this current Pakistan team. We defeated a billion-dollar cricket industry. I have played World Cups but we never won against India. This team should be appreciated. Despite limited to resources, we are giving them a tough fight," he added.