'Are we servants of India? Give Pakistan the respect it deserves' - Ramiz Raja lashes out at BCCI again amid 2023 Asia Cup tussle

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja, who was recently sacked as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, has slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) once again over the venue tussle around the 2023 Asia Cup 2023. Raja has said that the PCB is not India’s "servant" and that the Pakistan cricket fans must get the respect that they deserve. 

"What is leadership? When Asian Cricket Council has asked Pakistan to host a tournament and then India say they won't travel to Pakistan and shift the tournament to a neutral venue, what should be the response?" wondered Ramiz Raja while speaking to Dunya News.

“Are we servant of India just because they are a world power in cricket? Should we listen to everything they say?,“ he asked. "We will think, will we get isolated, we'll ask permission from the government then talks will move further. These are not signs of good leadership. The Pakistan cricket team is enjoying a great run, you have a good fan following, you have superstars, so please give your team and fans the respect they deserve."

Notably, ACC President and BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed earlier this year that the Indian team will not be travelling to Pakistan for the sub-continental tournament. He had also conveyed that the tournament will instead be organised at a neutral venue. Ever since, Raja has expressed his concerns multiple times over the matter. 

"The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue," Shah told media after the BCCI's AGM in October. "I am saying this as ACC President. We [India] can't go there [to Pakistan], they can't come here. In the past also, Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue." Shah had said.

In response, Raja, then the PCB chief, had said that Pakistan will not be travelling to India for the 2023 ODI World Cup. "It's not as if we don't have hosting rights and we're pleading to host it. We won the rights fair and square. If India doesn't come, they won't come. If the Asia Cup gets taken away from Pakistan, maybe we're the ones that pull out."