Kapil doesn’t need money, but others need help: Shoaib
lahore -- Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar stood by his suggestion of organising an India-Pakistan cricket series to help raise funds in the fight against coronavirus.
Shoaib’s suggestion had earlier been put down by Kapil Dev, who said that India didn’t need the money and the focus now should be on staying healthy.
Shoaib agrees that someone like Kapil doesn’t need the money, but many people in the poverty-ridden India and Pakistan are suffering even more after the virus outbreak. So, he says the two countries should come together and play a fundraising crickets series when it’s safe to play.
“I don’t think Kapil bhai understood what I was trying to say,” Shoaib told a news channel. “Everyone is going to be trapped economically.
This is the time to put our heads together and generate revenues. I’m talking about the larger perspective, about economic reforms.
“The global audience would be hooked by one single match, it will generate revenues. Kapil said he doesn’t need the money and he surely doesn’t. But everyone else does. I think this suggestion will come into consideration soon.”
Shoaib said that both India and Pakistan have a lot of poverty and the two countries should cooperate with each other better during the crisis caused by the spread of the pandemic.
“I had said that I know India more than even (Pakistan Prime Minister) Imran Khan himself. I have travelled to many areas and interacted with many people there. I keep telling people here what Indians are all about.
“Our countries have a lot of poverty. I am saddened when people are suffering. As a human and as a Muslim, it is my responsibility to help as much as I can,” he said.
Shoaib said that after Pakistan, it is in India that he has received the biggest love and he said he is making the suggestion for those who are involved in the game and are now unemployed because of the lack of matches. -