Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the BCCI, alleging that the Indian cricket board played a role in the ICC postponing the T20 World Cup later this year to make room for the Indian Premier League (IPL). Akhtar also felt that the Asia Cup could have taken place.
“Asia Cup could have definitely happened, it would have been a great chance for India and Pakistan to play against each other. There are many reasons behind this. I don’t want to get into that,” Akhtar said while speaking to Geo Cricket on YouTube.
“T20 World Cup could have also happened, but I had already said earlier that they won’t let it happen. IPL should not be damaged, let the World Cup go to hell,” Akhtar said.
The India vs Australia series in 2008 became the centre of a major controversy after Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of hurling racial slurs towards Australia’s Andrew Symonds. After the incident was reported, Harbhajan was banned for three matches but an appeal by the Indian team management saw the suspension being lifted.
While there wasn’t any evidence to prove Harbhajan guilty, Shoaib Akhtar – more than a decade after the incident took place – believes it was the BCCI which used its powers to bail Harbhajan out from the tricky situation.
“Sometimes they get easy wickets in Melbourne, at times someone calls another person a monkey but gets saved, the talk goes to boycotting the series. I am asking the Australians, where are their ethics? You made kids cry for scratching a cricket ball and they got away by calling someone a monkey. They [BCCI] said to end the series and they [Australian Board] said no such incident happened,” said Akhtar, while talking to Geo Cricket.
