New Delhi:
Continuing his attack on India, Pakistani Science and Technology Minister Fawad Hussain Chaudhry on Tuesday accused India of coercing members of the Sri Lankan cricket team into dropping out of the Pakistan tour, sparking yet another controversy on social media.
According to Chaudhry, India had threatened to remove Sri Lanka’s players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) if they didn’t refuse to play in Pakistan.
"Informed sports commentators told me that India threatened SL players that they will be ousted from IPL if they don't refuse Pak visit, this is really cheap tactic, jingoism from sports to space is something we must condemn, really cheap on the part of Indian sports authorities," Chaudhry tweeted.
Informed sports commentators told me that India threatened SL players that they ll be ousted from IPL if they don’t refuse Pak visit, this is really cheap tactic, jingoism from sports to space is something we must condemn, really cheap on the part of Indian sports authorities
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) September 10, 2019
Recently, Hussain had trolled India after the ISRO lost contact with Vikram lander during the moon landing.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday said the scheduled home series against Sri Lanka will go ahead despite top players from the island nation pulling out of the tour. Most of the international teams have refused to tour Pakistan since a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus during a Test match in Lahore in March 2009.
The Sri Lankan cricket board had given the freedom to its players to choose if they want to travel to Pakistan. Twenty20 skipper Lasith Malinga and former captains Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera are among 10 players who have decided against travelling to Pakistan, citing security concerns.
Earlier, Chaudhry threatened that Prime Minister Imran Khan was considering a complete closure of airspace to India, a day the US agreed that Kashmir is a bilateral issue after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra and President Donald Trump. He said the prime minister is contemplating the stoppage of routes to impede Indian trade.
"PM [Imran Khan] is considering a complete closure of air space to India. A complete ban on the use of Pakistan's land routes for Indian trade to Afghanistan was also suggested in a cabinet meeting. The legal formalities for these decisions are under consideration...Modi has started we'll finish!" Fawad Chaudhry tweeted.
