"Aa toh sahi ek dafaa" - Tanvir Ahmed's message to India amid debate over 2025 Champions Trophy venues
Former Pakistani cricketer Tanvir Ahmed has insisted that Team India should not be reluctant to play the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan. The Men in Green are the hosts for the ICC event, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly keen on having a hybrid model.
India haven't traveled to Pakistan for a cricket series since the 2008 Asia Cup. A video recently surfaced on social media, in which Ahmed urged the Indian team to play the 2025 Champions Trophy on Pakistani soil.
Suggesting that Pakistan will provide security to the Indian team, Tanvir Ahmed said:
"Sher hai hum log sher hai, hum log sher hai. Hum log tere mulk me aa ke khel ke gaye hai. Aake dikha....Hum toh kah rahe hai aake khelo. Security denge, sab kuch denge tum logon ko. Aa toh sahi ek dafaa [We are lions, we are lions. We came and played cricket in your country. Come here and show... We are inviting you to come and play. We will provide security, we will give you everything. Just come once]."
It is worth mentioning that Pakistan were the hosts for the 2023 edition of the Asia Cup. However, with India unwilling to visit their neighbouring country, a hybrid model was used for the continental tournament. Pakistan hosted just four games, with the rest of the fixtures taking place in Sri Lanka.
"Woh India jaake khelke wapas aaye the" - Tanvir Ahmed on Pakistan team
In the aforementioned video, Tanvir Ahmed highlighted that Pakistan haven't refused to play in India and opined that they have shown bravery by doing so.
He emphasized that it didn't matter how the Pakistani side performed in those tournaments, the important thing was that they didn't refuse to participate. Tanvir Ahmed added:
"Yeh sirf Pakistan ke playeron ka kaam hai, bhai. Sirf Pakistan ke player aate hai aur khelke chale jaate hai. Chahe jeete, chahe haare, jis tarah ki cricket khele. Woh India jaake khelke wapas aaye the. Isko kahte hai ek daler team aur daler players [It's only the Pakistan players who do this. Only Pakistani players come and play and go back, regardless of winning or losing, and no matter how they play. They went to India and returned after playing there. This is what you call a brave team and brave players]."
While a hybrid model was used for the 2023 Asia Cup, Pakistan did travel to India for the 2023 ODI World Cup later that year.