Will India-Pakistan cricket rivalry resume in near future?
Wasim Khan, CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told The Associated Press he does not expect a resumption of the Pakistan-India cricket rivalry anytime soon.
Khan has managed to liaise with almost all the cricketing boards around the world since he joined the PCB last year.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan have seen both countries playing against each other only in major international tournaments like Champions Trophy and World Cups.
“Should we be playing India? Absolutely,” Khan said. “Could we be playing them? Probably not for the foreseeable future.”
He says Pakistan ready to welcome major cricketing nations like South Africa, New Zealand, England and West Indies in 2021, according to The Associated Press.
“We’re working hugely in terms of building relationships, nurturing those relationships with (other) cricket boards,” Wasim Khan, CEO of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told The Associated Press.
South Africa is due to visit Pakistan in January to play a two-test series which is part of world test championship, followed by three Twenty20s.
New Zealand is penciled in for three ODIs and five Twenty20s in September, followed by two Twenty20s against England at Karachi. It will be England’s first tour to Pakistan since 2005.
The PCB has also plans a home series against West Indies in December.
“We have a chock-a-block eight to 10 months coming up for us on the road playing at home,” Khan said in the AP report.
“We’re also in discussions with Cricket Australia. They’re due to be touring during the 2022 season, we’re looking at them coming for an extended period of time.”
Players like Shane Watson of Australia and South Africans Dale Steyn and A.B. de Villiers were among some big names that toured Pakistan and have played for various city-based franchise teams.
Khan believes these players had a significant role in portraying Pakistan’s improving image among cricket-playing nations.
“A lot of these players go back to their own countries … and say, you know what? Pakistan is one of the safest places to play,” Khan said.
“These are those cricketers who are associated with their own cricket boards, who are international cricketers, who perhaps had a (different) perception of Pakistan before they came here.”
Tight security with cricket team buses heavily guarded by armed personnel is quite normal in Pakistan whenever overseas contingents travel to the stadium from hotels, often blocking already heavy traffic on major roads of big cities like Lahore and Karachi.
“Yes, we’ll continue to provide state-level security for as long as possible, we’ll never become complacent,” Khan said.
Khan also wants to organize a limited-overs series against neighboring Afghanistan somewhere next year, after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricket captain for the country, visited Kabul and extended an invitation to Afghan national team this week.
“We will do everything we can to find a slot in the calendar to arrange fixtures against Afghanistan,” Wasim Khan said.