Former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has slammed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) as he ranted about economic inequalities in cricket. Speaking on a YouTube chat show, Akhtar alleged that CA blurted out incidents such as the infamous Monkeygate controversy due to the BCCI being a financial powerhouse. The Monkeygate scandal unfolded when Indian senior Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the Test of India Down Under the second tour in 2008.
“Sometimes they get easy kiosks in Melbourne, someone calls another person a monkey but gets away with it, there are threats to boycott the show. I ask the Australians, where are their ethics?” Akhtar said.
“You made children cry for scratching a cricket ball, and they escaped calling someone a monkey. When they (BCCI) threatened to end the series, they (Cricket Australia) said that ‘no such incident had happened. Are these your moral reasons?” the legendary pacer said.
“Forget all this drama; just say we need the money. The money comes from the BCCI, and you just keep taking it,” he said.
Akhtar also had a few words on the postponement of the T20 World Cup, with reports of the IPL taking place in the September-November window instead.
“The T20 World Cup could have happened too, but I had said it earlier that they wouldn’t let that happen. The IPL shouldn’t be damaged, let the World Cup go to hell,” Akhtar said.
