'Make promise'- Former Pakistan player challenges India to maintain stance against Pakistan in ICC events

Recently, the clash between India and Pakistan Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) had been called off by the organizers after several Indian players pulled out of the encounter on the eve of the game, due to the recent political disturbances between the two neighboring nations. Pakistan’s former captain, Shahid Afridi, was critical of the opponent’s decision as he had found former opener Salman Butt to partner him in the controversy.

The Pakistan batter has thrown a challenge to the Indian side to maintain the same stance in high-profile events like the World Cups and the ICC events in the future. Salman made these comments on the YouTube channel as he questioned what the players wanted to prove by this decision.

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‘The whole world is talking about them - what message have they sent to cricket as a whole and to the fans? What are you trying to show? What are you trying to prove? Now don't play in the World Cup...don't play against us in any ICC tournament. Make this a promise. See, we understand that everything has its place.’ Salman expressed this during a video he posted on his YouTube channel.

Salman Butt challenges India to cancel World Cup events against Pakistan  

‘But now that you are interlinking, don't play against us at any level or tournament. Not even the Olympics. Please do that. I would love to see. The stakes would be high, and I'd see how much nationalism they can show at that level.’ The former opening batter of the Green Brigade addressed in the same video.

The decision came after icons like Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, and Yusuf Pathan announced their decision to pull out of the clash against Pakistan. Even though these seemed to be personal decisions, Butt reflected that a few put pressure on and influenced the other to skip the encounter.

‘What is this mindset? I just can't understand. Who is making this decision? Those 4-5 people who decided not to play, because of them, others, who probably had the mindset to play, felt pressured. Keep this intact, because we will keep reminding them of this.’ The former captain of the Pakistan side reiterated the challenge for the Blue Brigade.