Terming India-Pakistan cricket exchanges as “superior” to the Ashes (between England and Australia), Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan on Sunday appealed for a resumption of sporting contests between the two countries at the earliest.
Mr. Khan is presently on a tour of India, followed by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, to try and convince the sub-continent nations to visit Pakistan.
Scheduled to talk to some officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he will soon be meeting the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman N. Srinivasan to press his case.
“I will be meeting Mr. Srinivasan in Dubai in three to four days’ time. Others I have spoken to have welcomed my suggestions. They know my track record in promoting relations between the two countries through cricket. Time has come for us to move forward on cricket issues. This is what I’ll try to achieve,” affirmed Mr. Khan at a reception hosted in his honour at the Pakistan High Commission by Ambassador Abdul Basit. Mr. Khan claimed, “I am handling a very tough job and I strongly feel that sporting contests should not become hostage to other forces. We want the relationship to move forward and cricket can certainly act as the bridge for peace. People in Pakistan have nothing but admiration for Indian cricket. Our players were also mobbed when they travelled to India. Let us start the process. I need your support.”
“We are ready,” insisted Mr. Khan. “The problem is India’s national team, for security reasons only, is not able to come to Pakistan; in which case we go elsewhere. India has agreed to play in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2015. There are five series listed later. We want India to come and play in Pakistan.”
The PCB chairman offered invitations for all teams. “We feel the time is ripe for other teams, if not national teams, to come and play in Pakistan. We invite India ‘A’, under-19, women’s team, schoolboys’ team, let us start the process. You’ll find they are well received. If small teams come and play, the bigger cricket nations can come also and play in Pakistan.”
Speaking on the relevance of India-Pakistan cricket, Mr. Khan said, “There is a report by ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) chief Giles Clarke that Indo-Pak series is more important than the Ashes. There is a lot of rivalry, lot of public involved.” Mr. Khan observed.
Uphill task On the issue of off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, reported for suspect bowling action, the PCB chairman felt the bowler’s comeback for the forthcoming was an “uphill task”. He said, “Ajmal is trying very hard. There are a team of experts working with him (headed by former Test off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq). He has admitted to making a mistake and is trying his best to rectify it.”
