'If you have the courage, come here and play' - Tanvir Ahmed enters dirty pool as Indian team's Pakistan travel remains uncertain

The Champions Trophy 2025 is due to commence in less than seven months. Pakistan has the hosting rights and the BCCI has not yet decided whether the Indian team will travel to the neighbouring country. The hesitation stems from security concerns and geopolitical issues between both countries. As PCB is adamant about getting the Indian team on board, former Pakistan pacer Tanvir Ahmed has displayed a straw man's fallacy by questioning the courage of the Indian team.

It is worth noting that the Pakistan team travelled to India for the T20 World Cup 2016 and World Cup 2023 as the tensions escalated between both countries. Tanvir, while addressing the developments, termed the Pakistan team as lions and dared India to display the same by showing up in the country for the impending tournament.

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"We are lions. We have come to your den and played you. If you have the courage, come here and play. We will give you security, we'll give you everything. Come for once! Only Pakistan players can come and play. They went to India and played. That's what you call bravery," said Tanvir as quoted by NDTV Sports.

Pakistan Cricket grappling under the extremist shadow  

Pakistan was termed a red zone by the ICC after the Sri Lanka team was attacked by terrorists on their way to the stadium in 2009. Though players managed to come out fine, few of them got injured and the incident sent shockwaves across the globe with no country willing to tour Pakistan. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh Women were the nations to tour Pakistan in 2015 after six years of horrific attacks.

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Ironically, Sri Lanka followed suit by touring the country in 2017 for a lone game. West Indies arrived in 2018 for the T20I series with the likes of Chris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite, and Jason Holder deciding to not board the flight. Pakistan welcomed Test cricket at home as Sri Lanka toured them again in 2019 for a multi-format series.