Former PCB chief criticizes the board’s World Cup ODI stance. The government’s plan to organise a high-level committee to assess whether the national cricket team will compete in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India has come under fire from Khalid Mahmood, the former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Mahmood, who handled the entirety of Pakistan’s 1999 tour of India and who also travelled to the country next door in 1989 while managing the junior team, argued that the formation of this committee was ludicrous. In an interview, Mahmood said that it is “interesting” that the committee lacks a person from the primary stakeholder, the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“While I agree that India has no excuse not to tour Pakistan right now, this is not how things are done on a global scale.” Mahmood claimed that by assembling this committee of ministers, the government had blatantly disregarded its own rule against the intersection of politics and athletics.”
Also Read: Pakistan’s Exclusion Opens The World Cup 2023 To a New Team
“It makes sense if you say that we are considering the security situation before deciding to send a team to India for the World Cup, but saying out loud that if India doesn’t visit Pakistan, we won’t send a team to India for the World Cup is combining the two, which we have never done.” Mahmood also questioned whether the government’s extensive involvement in PCB issues and the decision to send the team to the World Cup were necessary.
We sent a trip to India in 1999, when I was chairman, to investigate the security environment for our team despite Indian threats, and we informed the government that we were willing to travel there. He asserted that it was prudent to ensure that the Pakistani team took part in the significant event in order to avoid sanctions and strained relations with other boards.
Any decision Najam Sethi made regarding the Asia Cup in his capacity as the chairman of the Cricket Management Committee should be respected at this time, according to Mahmood.
“Given the creation of this committee and the minister’s statement earlier this week, I anticipate Zaka Ashraf will encounter an uncomfortable situation when he attends the ICC meetings later this week.”
