Sports

Fans Forced Me Not to Accept IPL Invitation: Ramiz Raja

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Ramiz Raja has once again discussed the much-debated topic of the India-Pakistan bilateral cricket and expressed his displeasure as he believes it is a political game.

Speaking at a post-budget press conference, the PCB chairman stated that it would be unfortunate if 2-3 cricketers who are board presidents or chairmen could not resume bilateral cricket.

See, I’ve had conversations with Sourav Ganguly on the sidelines. I keep telling him, there are 2-3 cricketers who are currently the board presidents or chairman. If we can’t bring a difference, what’s the point? He also has his own concerns, unfortunately.

It must be mentioned here that since their white-ball series in 2012–2013, Pakistan and India have only met each other at ICC events. PCB brought up the issue on various platforms, but because of the intense political interference, they didn’t get a favorable response.

Advancing the discussion, Ramiz revealed that he was invited to IPL in Dubai but pressure from cricket fans did not allow him to accept the BCCI’s invitation.

On two different occasions, he invited me to IPL; once in Dubai and once this year. I was confused about whether or not to attend. I thought if I went there, fans will not spare me.

The PCB chairman went on to say that accepting the invitation could lead to the resumption of bilateral cricket, but that obstacles posed by strong political interference must be removed first.

There might be a cricketing sense to it (attending the IPL), yes, but right now, there are some cracks that need to be filled because it’s a political game.

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Published by
Imad Ali Jan