We need to create a cricketing bond: Raja on meeting with Ganguly and Shah

Lahore, Oct 18: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has, after meeting with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly and Secretary Jay Shah, said that a cricketing bond needs to be created between the two countries.

He added that lots of work will be needed in reinvigorating cricket between Pakistan and India. Raja had met Ganguly and Shah on the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Executive Board meeting on Friday in Dubai.

"I met with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the ACC meetings. We need to create a cricketing bond, while I have also believed that politics should stay away from sport as much as possible and this has always been our stance. A lot of work needs to be done to revitalise Pakistan-India cricket but there needs to be some comfort level between the two boards and then we can see how far we can go. So overall, we had a good discussion," said Raja in a statement issued by PCB on Monday.

Raja informed that the 2023 Asia Cup in Pakistan will be a 50-over competition. "The ACC has agreed and approved that the 2023 event in Pakistan will be a 50-over competition and will be held in September. This aligns very nicely with the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in October and November. We are looking forward to hosting this tournament in Pakistan and I am confident it will be a well-organised event because this is what the fans want."

"The ACC has also confirmed next year's tournament in Sri Lanka will be played on a 20-over format and will be a prelude to the'ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 to be held in Australia from 16 October to 13 November," added Raja.

Talking about the ACC, Raja said, "The ACC was set up to create a unified approach and collective stance so that we had one voice and if there was a situation, all stood together. I would like to see our relationship with other boards and the ACC be strong so that if there is an issue like we had with the withdrawal of a couple of sides, a strong and joint statement could come out from the ACC platform. My message at the ACC was that we should not forget this philosophy and I am optimistic there will be better outcomes in future."