PCB's Ehsan Mani downplays India's role in Pakistan's absence from World XI-Asia XI T20s

Off late, there has been a lot of speculation regarding player participation in the Asia XI vs. World XI T20 matches which have been scheduled for March 2020. The two matches will be celebrating the birth centenary of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ehsan Mani has come out and cleared the air over Pakistani participation in the upcoming matches.

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PSL clash leads to Pakistan's absence

PCB chief Ehsan Mani spoke to a leading sports portal about his country's representation in the upcoming Asia XI vs. World XI matches. Mani confirmed via a text message that there will be no Pakistani representation in the Asia XI because of the matches clashing with the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the country's premier T20 competition. Mani also blamed the media for sensationalising rumours and such reports should not be entertained.

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Yesterday, BCCI joint-secretary Jayesh George had also confirmed that India did not know of any Pakistan player participating in the fixtures and the topic had never come up in the first place. George also said that India will be fielding five players in the team and those names will be decided by BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and his advisors. Tensions between the BCCI and PCB had escalated again as recently, Mani also commented that the security provisions that players get in Pakistan are much better than the ones offered in India.

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It makes the PCB chairman's current claim all the more doubtful, considering that none of the countries are willing to entertain each other. India are currently on a break after having an exceptional 2019. In January, the team will play in three T20Is with Sri Lanka and then proceed to take on Australia in three ODIs at home. On the other hand, Pakistan will be playing the Netherlands and Ireland in the same month as well.

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