Pakistan are gearing up for their first match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Green will lock horns with the co-hosts United States in their tournament opener at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. However, ahead of their first match of the tournament, they have attracted themselves some criticism owing to one of their gestures off the field. Ex-Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for hosting private dinner, charging 25 US dollars for the same.
Latif shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) where he shared that the fans in the USA were invited to have a meet and greet with the Pakistan players at a private dinner. However, the same was not a free or a charity event but they were in fact charged a hefty sum to be part of the event. The former Pakistan stumper termed it a terrible idea to host such an event.
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"There are official dinners, but this is a private dinner. Who can do this? It's terrible. That means you met our players in 25 dollars. God forbid, had there been a mess, people would have said boys are earning money," Latif said in the video.
"People tell me that whoever calls the Pakistan players, they just ask, 'how much money will you give?' This has become common. Things were different at our time, we had 2-3 dinners but they were official. But this is highlighted because it's the World Cup. So the players should be careful," Latif added.
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India vs Pakistan Marquee T20 World Cup 2024 Clash On June 9
While Pakistan meet USA in their first match, India will take on Ireland in their tournament opener. Both the teams' will then come against each other in New York at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9. While India enjoy a better record against their arch-rivals, in the 2021 edition of the tournament, India succumbed to a defeat while Pakistan gave India another scare in the 2022 edition before a superhuman effort from Virat Kohli helped India get over the line at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).