ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Najam Sethi, has said the sporting relations between India and Pakistan were being held hostage by the Indian government not permitting their players to play with their counterparts across the border.
“The BCCI and the PCB are contracted to play. But the BCCI says the Indian government has not permitted it to play Pakistan in a bilateral series but it can play Pakistan in any multilateral competition,” Sethi was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
“There seems to be no point in inviting BCCI officials to visit Pakistan when they are not even prepared to play us in a secure third country,” Sethi said.
Holding PSL final in Lahore had proved to be a milestone in revival of international cricket in the country, Sethi remarked.
The PCB chairman said holding PSL final in Lahore in March paved the way for the World XI which will pave the way for Sri Lanka to play a T20 in October.
“Sri Lanka tour will then pave the way for the West Indies to play three matches in November. We are taking it step by step. That’s our approach.
“The PCB is working on two fronts for reviving international cricket,” he added.
“Ensuring foolproof security by involving international security experts with the Standard Operating Procedures of Punjab government, and progressively holding PSL matches in Pakistan with foreign players so that windows of confidence can be created for full series in due course,” Sethi said.
“The series between Pakistan and World XI will encourage teams to tour Pakistan,” he said.
Sethi said the ICC chief Shashank Manohar will be invited to watch the Pakistan-World XI series.
The PCB chief further said that the board is also planning to honour ex-national captains Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi, at the Annual Awards Ceremony on Sept 14.—APP
