Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf expects to revive cricketing ties with India this year and is even willing to play against the arch-rivals at a neutral venue.
Ashraf says he had a “fruitful” meeting with officials from the Board of Control for Cricket in India last week when he watched the Indian Premier League final at Chennai.
“I think our (cricketing) relations will be revived very soon and people will hear the good news,” Ashraf said.
Cricketing ties between Pakistan and India were suspended in 2008 after the terror attacks in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed, straining political relations between the countries. Ashraf says he won’t mind sending the Pakistan team to India or to a neutral venue.
Formalities of the bilateral series will be finalized during the ICC Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur later this month. “Nothing has been finalized as yet because India will come up with a proposal at Kuala Lumpur, but what I felt was that the series will be held this year,” Ashraf said.
BCCI President Narainswamy Srinivasan also met Ashraf in New Delhi and promised him he will talk with other BCCI officials before finalizing an agreement with the PCB.
“He told me `just give us a little time, we will talk more on this in Kuala Lumpur after I talk with other BCCI officials,”‘ Ashraf said.
Last week the BCCI said that it will invite Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 champions Sialkot Stallions to this year’s Champions League which might also open doors for Pakistan cricketers to compete in next year’s IPL.
Zaka met with senior politicians in Pakistan to discuss the issue.
“They all supported our positive intention to build up a relationship and revive the cricketing ties with each other,” Ashraf told a press conference in Islamabad. “What I feel is that we will be able to play each other this year in any available slot.”
Talks of a revival of Pakistan-India cricketing ties began when Ashraf requested Zardari to take up the issue with the Indian government. A meeting between the head of the states in Delhi in April provided more impetus to the talks with indications that the Indian government had no objections to the resumption of cricket between the two countries.
Ashraf, who had taken over from Ijaz Butt last October with Pakistan cricket facing a host of issues, called his India tour a successful one. “Reviving the relationship with India was the toughest task but the job is nearly done,” he said. A final decision on a series between the two teams is likely to be taken in Kuala Lumpur, where the ICC’s board of directors meets later this month.
He however ruled out the perception that only Pakistan was insisting on a bilateral series while India had little interest in it. “They want to play with us – that is the point we both agreed and have been discussing on the sidelines of ICC meetings in last many months.
“It’s not like we are begging to play and depending on them. It’s about the relationship that is eventually linked up with playing each other. The relationship with India is very important at the top level. Other than that there are minor issues like exchange of junior level teams, women’s cricket team and participation in the IPL which will all be sorted out.”
