Saqlain Mushtaq: “Winning and losing is part of the game. Cricket is not war. That is why I feel cricket should be played between the two countries”
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Legendary Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has lashed out at iconic India all-rounder Kapil Dev for criticising Shoaib Akhtar’s three-match ODI series suggestion.
Akhtar had called for a series between India and Pakistan to be held at a neutral venue like Dubai, with the funds raised going to both governments to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Kapil noted that India “does not need money” and told Akhtar to stop giving such suggestions.
Responding to Kapil’s remarks, Saqlain was quoted by Ary Sports as saying: “What do you call sportspersons? You call them heroes and what is their job? Their job is to do good deeds. Winning and losing is part of the game. Cricket is not war. That is why I feel cricket should be played between the two countries.
“To say that Pakistan cricket will suffer because of not playing India is the not right way to look at this. The bigger picture is that the game should be promoted on both sides. And if we do play, there is a possibility of relations improving.
“Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne organized All-Stars matches in America (in 2015). You won’t believe I saw a flag with colors of both India and Pakistan flags. An Indian and Pakistani were holding that together.
“It brought the two nations closer. I would request the ICC to look into this. Financially also, it is a win-win for both BCCI and PCB. The series is much bigger than the Ashes.”
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral series since the latter toured India for two Twenty20 Internationals and three ODIs from December 2012 to January 2013.
Since then, the two arch-rivals have only clashed at major cricket events like the World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.
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