Hasan Ali: “As our chairman (Mohsin Naqvi) has already said, if the Champions Trophy is going to be held in Pakistan, then it will be in Pakistan. If India don’t want to come, we’ll play without them”
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Fast bowler Hasan Ali has said if India don’t want to come to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy, then “we’ll play without them”.
Hasan’s comments come after it remains unclear whether India will travel to Pakistan for the tournament or request that they play their matches at a neutral venue.
Rumours have also started swirling that the entire Champions Trophy could be moved to another country to accommodate India’s concerns about playing in Pakistan.
However, Hasan wants the competition to be held in his home country and feels it would be unfair if it is moved just because of the India team.
“As our chairman (Mohsin Naqvi) has already said, if the Champions Trophy is going to be held in Pakistan, then it will be in Pakistan. If India don’t want to come, we’ll play without them. Cricket should be played in Pakistan, and if India don’t want to participate, it doesn’t mean cricket has ended. There are many other teams besides India,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Hasan was not part of Pakistan’s squad for the recent 2024 T20 World Cup, where the men in green lost to the United States of America and India before bouncing back to defeat Canada and Ireland.
Despite triumphing in their last two group stage matches, they could not make it through to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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