Karachi: On the sidelines of the annual conference of the international cricket council (ICC) in Edinburg, cricket boards officials held talks to mend or strengthen bilateral ties. The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shaharyar Khan held discussions with his counterparts from India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and England. According to the PCB, the Chairman assured his Afghan counterpart that Pakistan was prepared to hold four-day and one day matches with Afghanistan in Pakistan at a mutually convenient time. Also, Pakistan would provide training and technical facilities to Afghanistan.
Terming the meeting cordial, the chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Shafiq Stanikzai hoped that both the countries would play a full series in the near future. “The meeting with Shaharyar Khan was very pleasant. We discussed the possibility of a bilateral series, plating ODI and T20, in the near future”, said Shafiq Stanikzai
“An unfortunate incident, in Lahore, earlier this year caused the interruption however Afghanistan now looking forward to touring Pakistan in 2017″, hoped Stanikzai
“Shaharyar Khan also welcomed the proposal of a full bilateral series.” said Stanikzai
This is pertinent to mention that Afghanistan was to tour Pakistan in April-May this year however the tour was called off due to the security situation in Lahore, following a terrorist incident.
Stanikzai also described the ICC meeting as productive especially for associate members like Afghanistan and Ireland. He added that the Afghan cricket board had come a long way and, he believes, they were now ready for Test cricket as well. “Our stance was clear that ACB was in a better position than ever before both in terms of infrastructure and cricket development. Our team is at the peak of its performance and we are ready for test cricket as well”, maintained Stanikzai
“Apart from Pakistan, I also met with the authorities of different full member boards and had fruitful discussions”, concluded Stanikzai