'Ehsan Mani undeserving to comment on India's safety': BCCI hits back at PCB chief

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has hit back at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani after calling India's security situation worse than that in Pakistan at present. Mani made these controversial comments on Monday in a press conference in Karachi after Pakistan completed playing their first Test series at home in a decade. Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka, which was co-incidentally the last team to have played in Pakistan before the Lahore terror attacks that injured several of their star players.

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BCCI criticizes Ehsan Mani for unnecessary comments

BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal told a leading Indian media daily that Mani is 'not eligible' to compare India and Pakistan's security situation primarily because he continues to reside mainly in London, despite being the PCB chairman. To add salt to the wounds, Dhumal added that Mani does not even deserve to comment on Pakistan’s security for that matter, let alone India's. The BCCI treasurer challenged the PCB chairman to spend more time in Pakistan to know why most top international teams are not in favour of visiting the country to play international cricket.

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He had claimed that his country had proven once again that safety was no longer an issue for international teams following the success of the recent Sri Lanka series. He added that the Lankans had visited the country two months ago for 3 ODIs and T20Is each respectively as well. Mani's statements come as a surprise more so for someone who has also served as the International Cricket Council (ICC) President in the past.

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Or perhaps it is not considering the fact that he was appointed as the PCB chairman last year by the board's chief patron and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Political tensions between India and Pakistan have only increased over the years, which has clearly spilled on to cricket. India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in 2012 and another series between the two nations seems impossible after the Pulwama terror attacks in February 2019.