LAHORE: BCCI official has reacted to Pakistan's director Mickey Arthur's comment of not hearing to national song 'Dil Dil Pakistan' while the Men in Green were playing against India in Ahmedabad for the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 game.
Mickey Arthur opined that it didn't look like a game of an ICC event during a post-match presser last night.
"It didn't seem like an ICC event tonight – let's be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series or a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the mics too often. That does play a role, but I won't use it as an excuse," he said.
While talking to Indian media, BCCI official said there was no harm in playing Dil Dil Pakistan but also asked a question to Mickey.
"You tell us when we should have played? when Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were dismissed or when Rohit Sharma hit six to Shaheen Afridi," the board official asked.
"One can play this when fans are present but there was no one for the Pakistan team," the official added.
Meanwhile, Indian media also started to make the matter bigger and said that Mickey Arthur started crying over this.
As per them, he has given strange remarks and has opened Pandora box by targeting BCCI through his statement.
He also didn't talk further on this topic due to fear of being fined and realised he overstepped his boundaries.
It must be noted that the Men in Green were playing in front of thousands of Indian fans at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium while Pakistan fans were rarely seen among the crowd.
Head coach Grant Bradburn had also echoed Mickey Arthur's statement over the one-sided atmosphere in Narendra Modi Stadium.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.- Mickey Arthur