'Elections are due and they have nothing else to show' - Kirti Azad slams PCB for backing Kashmir Premier League

Former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad minced no words and blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a cricket league backed by the PCB is set to commence in the month of August in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. It is to be noted that the elections in the Pakistan-occupied part of Jammu and Kashmir will be held on 25th July, and the league is expected to be played from 6th August to 17th August 2021. Wasim Akram has been named as the Vice President of the League, while the brand ambassador is Shahid Afridi.

Azad has absolutely torn into the PCB. Stating that Pakistan has shamed India by occupying Kashmir, Azad opined that Pakistan has created a lot of problems and has not at all developed the part of Kashmir that they have occupied.

Azad even termed Pakistan as a donkey economy and stated that they have always tried to create some sort of unrest in Kashmir. He also added that the Pakistan cricketers cannot even play in their own country but will have to instead go to Dubai to play cricket. He firmly stated that the league cannot go ahead.

“The elections are due and they have nothing else to show. Time and again they have been shamed and call out at the global stage with their occupation of Kashmir and the problems they have been creating and just look at the development the region has had which is nothing to show for compared to what we have seen on the Indian side. Pakistan is a donkey economy and it has always been a case of them trying to create unrest in the region.

Their economy in tatters, there are no industries, no opportunities of growth; no country wants to visit the nation and play. Their players cannot play and they have to go to Dubai [UAE] and play. A country which cannot assure their on players’ safety, how can you go ahead with a league like this?” Azad said as quoted by News18.

BCCI should come down hard on the league: Kirti Azad

Kirti Azad further added that during the time of partition, the then ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh wanted to keep Kashmir as an independent state. He even stated that Pakistan has now illegally occupied Kashmir.

“During partition, Jammu and Kashmir was given the option to join either India or Pakistan but Maharaja Hari Singh, the ruler of that time, decided to keep it as an independent state. Ever since we have followed the democratic path, but that has not been the case in the region under the illegal occupation by Pakistan,” said Azad.

Azad concluded by strongly stating that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should come down hard on this league.

“There is no time for diplomacy, not even a month (to the start of the tournament) and BCCI should come down hard and through the Indian govt. pressure the countries whose players are participating to not have anything to do with the league,” concluded Azad.