Imran Khan keen on resuming Indo - Pak cricketing ties, reveals new PCB chief Ehsan Mani

Ehsan Mani replaces Najam Sethi as next PCB Chief replacing Najam Sethi..

India and Pakistan haven’t played any bilateral series since 2012-13 | Getty Images

Newly-appointed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani has revealed, on Tuesday (21 August), that Prime Minister Imran Khan is “very, very keen” on the resumption of the bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan.

Mani told The Indian Express, “It’s still early days. My intention is to make Asian cricket stronger again, as it used to be. I don’t want to go into any detail at this stage but obviously, cricket between Pakistan and India is important to world cricket. So, that is one thing we will have to sit down, consider and address. Fortunately, we have a Prime Minister who is very, very keen on that.”

Noteworthy, India and Pakistan haven’t played any bilateral series since 2012-13, as the Indian government has refused to give BCCI permission for a bilateral series with them until “Pakistan stops cross-border terrorism”. However, they played against each other only in the ICC events.

While appointing Mani as PCB chief, Khan wrote on Twitter: “I have appointed Ehsan Mani as Chairman PCB. He brings vast and valuable experience to the job. He represented PCB in the ICC; was Treasurer ICC for 3 yrs and then headed the ICC for another 3 yrs.”

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer-turned-politician had stated, “We don’t want to be enemies forever. You have to think about the future. There are mutual cricketing heroes in both our countries. Like Wasim Akram is adored and loved in India, Sachin Tendulkar is a hero in Pakistan.”

It is learned that the upcoming Asia Cup 2018 had to be shifted out of India because of Pakistan’s participation in the multi-nation event and now the UAE will host the tournament next month.

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 21 Aug, 2018

    Share Via