Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal has taken a big swipe at Pakistani cricketers over their statements on the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 and the apparent role it played in the postponement of the T20 World Cup this year.
It was Shoaib Akhtar who blamed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for using its influence in getting the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup cancelled this year just so it could organise the IPL. Lal, however, is of the opinion that such statements come from Pakistani cricketers out of jealousy.
“The Pakistan cricketers, a lot of them, don’t think at all before they speak. How can they claim that India has got the World Cup postponed?” Madan Lal told Sports Tak in an interview.
Many reckoned that it was about picking either the IPL or the T20 World Cup this year but the BCCI flexed its muscles to ensure that the former took place in place of the latter. Lal explained that sponsorship and the risk of COVID-19 were the primary reasons why a tournament as big as the T20 World Cup couldn’t be held.
“Firstly COVID-19 was around and T20 World Cup is a different type of tournament. Considering the absence of crowd and sponsorship issues, ICC and Cricket Australia have taken the decision to postpone it, which is a good decision,” he added.
“The IPL was always going to happen. We had already thought of organising the IPL in September-October depending on the available dates. So we have planned the IPL according to that which is a very good thing,” he further said.
When it comes to the Asia Cup 2020, which was scheduled to be held in September this year, Lal admitted that the continental tournament might have been possible but that does not give Pakistani cricketers the authority to make the kind of statements that were made. Rather, the focus should be on how to improve relations between the boards.
