The deliberations in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting here on Saturday focused on the Asia Cup in February-March 2014 apart from the routine issues.
Although he accepted that he had heard talks of an India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka tri-series in December ahead of the meeting, chief operating officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Subhan Ahmed, said nothing pertaining to such a tournament was discussed.
“We spoke on the modalities of the Asia Cup and the regular affairs of the ACC,” he said.
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This meant the talks between Cricket South Africa chief Haroon Lorgat and BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel in Dubai, two days from now, relating to India’s tour of South Africa in December assumed significance.
Talking about the India-Pakistan relations, Ahmed said the fact that Faisalabad Wolves had secured visas to take part in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 tournament was a step in the right direction.
“There are a lot of things happening. The Prime Ministers of the two countries are meeting soon. Then, we could have a series between the junior teams of the two countries,” he said.
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“A bilateral series between the two countries at the senior level will happen for sure. But, it is a step-by-step process and you have to give it time. The scenario, or the climate, is definitely better than it was a few days ago.” Ahmed was naturally saddened by Pakistan’s shock defeat to Zimbabwe in the Harare Test. “Misbah-ul-Haq fought hard, but we did not play good cricket,” he said.