Gautam Gambhir jumps into Asia Cup 2023 'venue-controversy', responds to Ramiz Raja's warning

Gautam Gambhir (Image source: Twitter)

The debate surrounding the Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan refuses to die down. Every now and then some or other member of the Indian Cricket fraternity or Pakistan comes and adds fuel to the fire.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja is among the most vocal regarding India’s refusal to play in Pakistan. Just a couple of days ago he had said, “Who will watch the World Cup in India if Pakistan doesn’t take part?”

Now, former India player Gautam Gambhir has now come up and added his two cents to the conversation. He said, “This is the decision of the Indian Cricket Board and the PCB. Whatever decision they take, they will take it together.”

Earlier, India’s Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Wait for the tight time. India major power in the world of sports and no country can overlook India.”

Who will watch World Cup if Pakistan don't play- Ramiz Raja

This reaction has come as a response to Ramiz RaJa’s explosive comments on India’s refusal to play in Pakistan. Raja had said, “If Pakistan doesn’t take part in the World Cup scheduled in India next year, who will watch it? We have a clear stand: If the Indian team comes here then we will go for the World Cup. If they don’t come then they can play the World Cup without us. We will adopt an aggressive approach. Our team is showing performance. I’ve always said we need to improve the economy of Pakistan cricket, and that can only happen when we perform well. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, we beat India. We beat India in the T20 Asia Cup. In one year, the Pakistan cricket team defeated a billion-dollar economy team twice,” on Urdu News earlier this week.

The debate started when Indian Cricket Secretary Jay Shah denied travelling to Pakistan for the Asia Cup 2023. Jay Shah said, “We have decided we will not travel to Pakistan. We will play at a neutral venue.”

Since then, the Pakistan Cricket Board and its former players have been irked and continue to fire shots at India even going as far as to say that they won’t travel to India for the upcoming ODI World Cup in 2023.