Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has condemned the Pulwama terror attack. He said India have a right to pull out of the World Cup clash against Pakistan as their country was attacked.
“Should sports stay political? Not at all. So these differences set in matters of circumstances. We strongly condemn the loss of lives,” Akhtar told a Pakistan news channel.
However, he backed Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had denied India’s claims that Pakistan was behind the attack.
“But when it comes to our country, we are one nation, united and we will stand by our Prime Minister’s statement without having a second thought. They have a right to pull out. Their country was attacked and hence the decision.”
He further added that the governing body of Indian cricket also wants to play against Pakistan considering the amount of money they would earn by hosting rival nation.
“BCCI wants to play with Pakistan, the government says no. Had they played with Pakistan, the broadcasters and BCCI would have earned the maximum revenue. The series would have a monetary value of 600 million dollars. Do you think they don’t? Of course, they want that,” the former Pakistan speedster said.
“The Pakistan board had mentioned that they want to play a bilateral series and you cannot deny it although the series can be held at a different venue altogether. But they (BCCI) have said that they have a board to run which falls under (the purview of) Supreme Court. That is their argument and that is logical.”