Pakistan cricket legend Javed Miandad is facing a growing backlash on the internet following his anti-India remarks on Sunday.
Slamming the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for its refusal to go to Pakistan for the premier continental tournament, the Asia Cup, Miandad pointed out that the Pakistani side has visited its larger neighbor twice in the past decade and now it was payback time for the Indian board.
"Pakistan has been to India in 2012 and even in 2016 now it is the turn of the Indians to come here. If I had to make a decision, I would never go to India to play any match, even the World Cup. We are always ready to play them (India) but they never respond in the same manner," Miandad told reporters in Pakistan. "Pakistan cricket is bigger... we are still producing quality players. India can go to hell. I don't think even if we don't go to India, it will make any difference to us."
Miandad's controversial remarks come at a time when the BCCI has agreed to play in the Asia Cup. But this came after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) opted to host the competition in a "hybrid model" which means that the Rohit Sharma-led side would contest all its matches in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, all the games of the event were scheduled to take place in Pakistan.
Against this backdrop, Miandad lashed out at the BCCI, urging the PCB to do a tit-for-tat as the former Pakistan skipper asked the national cricket body to pull out from the ICC World Cup which will be hosted by India in October-November this year.
The retired cricketer's harsh words, however, received a strong reaction on social media with many Indian supporters blasting him for criticizing the Men in Blue and the BCCI.
"I see Miandad is still trying to play cricket through his mouth at the age of 64. Maybe he should focus on coaching instead of making baseless statements. Also, if Pakistan refuses to travel to India for the World Cup, I'm sure they won't be missed," a user wrote on Twitter.
"That's why this stammerer is not there in any of the cricketing positions in Pakistan," another added pointing out Miandad's issues with stammering.
"Who cares, even if Pak is not there, the world cup is going to happen. Pak chairman is trying to control the schedule of WC, which is hard to do so… Just like IMF, ICC may let u go too," a third noted.