PCB chairman Najam Sethi accuses Indian govt for ambushing Pak-India sporting ties

Bilateral relations between India and Pakistan have always been a tricky terrain and now PCB chairman Najam Sethi alleged the Indian government for hindering the progress. Pakistan is set to host a World XI series in order to revive international cricket in the country. Earlier, in March the nation successfully organized the PSL final in Lahore.

However, despite all the security assurances, the Indian authorities are not permitting its players to play with their arch rivals. Sethi also said that International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Shashank Manohar will be invited to watch the ICC-Pakistan series. Apart from that, PCB is also planning to honor its past captains including Misbah ul Haq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi in the Annual Awards Ceremony on September 14.

Speaking to the media, Sethi said, “The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and PCB are contracted to play. But 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,” he said.

“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.”

Pakistan was forced to shift base to UAE

Rewinding the time, international cricket in Pakistan came to a standstill after anti-socials attacked a bus carrying Sri Lanka cricketers to the Gaddafi Stadium, in March 2009. Following the mishap, several international teams had refused to tour the country thereafter and consequently, Pakistan had to shift their base to the UAE and have been playing all their home cricket matches there for the past eight years.

The revival of the sport will provide a major boost to the nation and may also help shape the conscience of the cricketers, which plays a major role in cordoning off security-related issues on international tours.