((Tanveer magray))
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KNZ NEWS DESK
August 07 The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Shaharyar Khan, who vacates his chair on August 9, has regretted the fact that he was unable to revive bilateral cricket ties with India.
“If you ask me, definitely I wanted to see Pakistan and India bilateral cricket restored. But it didn’t happen this time despite our best efforts,” he was quoted by the PTI.
The former foreign secretary of Pakistan reminded that he was able to organise bilateral series during his previous term (2003-2006) with the PCB. “In my last tenure, we had three bilateral series with India and it was a big source of satisfaction for me,” he said.
The former high commissioner to India added that during his current tenure, the BCCI hasn’t cooperated with the Pakistan board to restore ties. However, he accepted that strained diplomatic and political relations did not help his efforts.
“I did my best this time as well because it is very important for India and Pakistan to play each other. The financial benefits of it are huge for both boards,” Shaharyar noted.
He rued how lack of international cricket in Pakistan since 2009 has had an adverse impact on the financial health of the PCB. “We have lost a lot of money in millions of dollars since India’s refusal to play with us and remember we have not had international cricket in Pakistan since 2009. So what else can we do to improve our financial health.”
Earlier in May this year, the PCB sought 447 crore compensation from the Indian board for refusing to acknowledge the MoU signed between the two countries in 2014.
“I was even accused of literally begging with India to play a bilateral series. But I was only trying to convince the Indian board to fulfill commitments they made in the MOU they signed with us in 2014,”he said
