The new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja stated that more hard work is required to move India’s cricketing relations with Pakistan in the future. The arch-rivals have only competed in events held by the International Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Council over the previous 9 years.
India and Pakistan have generally been at odds and have avoided playing bilateral series. But, Raja, a former Pakistan cricketer, expressed optimism about their future connections. During the ACC conference in Dubai, the experienced met BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and honorary secretary Jay Shah.
Politics should stay away from the sport as much as possible: Ramiz Raja
“A lot of work needs to be done to revitalize Pakistan-India cricket but there needs to be some comfortable level between the two boards and then we can see how far we can go. So overall, we had a good discussion,” Raja told on PCB’s official website.
“I met with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the ACC meetings. We need to create a cricketing bond, while I have also believed that politics should stay away from the sport as much as possible and this has always been our stance,” he stated.
“The ACC was set up to create a unified approach so that we had one voice and if there was a situation, all stood together. I would like to see our relationship with other boards and the ACC to be strong so that if there is an issue like we had with the withdrawal of a couple of sides, a strong and joint statement could come out from the ACC platform,” Raja added.
Raja further stated that Pakistan will host the Asia Cup in the 50-over format in 2023. However, he also stated that the prospects of India visiting Pakistan are poor owing to political relations between the two countries. In such a case, the event may be moved to the UAE.
On Sunday, October 24, India and Pakistan will face off in the T20 World Cup 2021 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
