New Delhi, April 12: In a rebuttal to former India captain, Kapil Dev's criticism to his idea of hosting a charity series between India and Pakistan to raise funds in the fight against novel coronavirus pandemic, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar said the former didn't understand him.
The former Pakistan pacer had floated the idea of hosting a charity ODI series between the arch-rivals to which the legendary India captain took strong exception to.
"He is entitled to his opinion but we don't need to raise the money. We have enough. The situation is unlikely to get normal anytime soon and organising a cricket game means putting our cricketers at risk which we don't need to," Dev said.
"It is just not worth the risk. And how much money can you make from three games?... In my view, you can't even think of cricket for the next five to six months," the World Cup-winning captain said.
Responding to Kapil's remarks, Akhtar told AajTak, "I don't think Kapil bhai understood what I was trying to say. Everyone is going to be trapped economically. This is the time to put our heads together and generate revenues. The global audience would be hooked by a match. 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."
The novel coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill. More than 1 lakh people have lost their lives due to this deadly pandemic and both India and Pakistan are under lockdown to prevent the citizens from getting infected.
Akhtar, who is also known as Rawalpindi Express, added further, "I had said that I know India more than even 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."