"It is kiddish to refuse to play in Pakistan when other teams are ready" - Mohammad Amir on India's 2025 Champions Trophy stance
Pakistani pacer Mohammad Amir has slammed India for their unwillingness to tour Pakistan for the upcoming 2025 Champions Trophy. He opined that India were acting 'kiddish' by refusing to play on Pakistani soil, considering that the remaining teams don't have any issue.
Amir emphasized that the remaining teams should not be made to suffer just because of India's stance. He suggested that the tournament should be conducted in Pakistan itself, with another team replacing India.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the 32-year-old was quoted as saying by cricketpakistan.com.pk:
"This is the loss of cricket, and this shouldn’t have happened. You can’t make other teams suffer because of one team. It would be better to keep India out of the tournament and add another team in their place. It is kiddish to refuse to play in Pakistan when other teams are ready to compete here."
It is worth mentioning that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) via email that the Men in Blue won't travel to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy. The PCB has forwarded the said email to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"PCB is not going to fall in line this time" - Mohammad Amir confident in Mohin Naqvi's abilities
Mohammad Amir also urged the ICC to take strict action when a country's government interferes during a multi-nation tournament. He mentioned that Pakistan won't back down this time, with Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi at the helm of the PCB.
Highlighting that Naqvi would ensure that Pakistan don't have to endure monetary losses due to India, Amir said in the aforementioned video:
"There should be a rule in place where ICC has the authority to take strict action against a member board of their government who interferes in cricketing matters. Otherwise, every other team will say they will not travel here and there.
"It seems the PCB is not going to fall in line this time as Mohsin Naqvi is the country’s interior minister, and he is not going to let Pakistan suffer after spending millions on the upgrades of the stadiums."
According to a report from Sports Tak, the 2025 Champions Trophy will be shifted to South Africa if Pakistan refuse to host the tournament in a hybrid model.