The Chairman of the International Cricket Council, Greg Barclay, and Geoff Allardice, the ICC Chief Executive, concluded their visit of Lahore during which they held important meetings with PCB offi-cials here on Thursday.
During the pre-arranged two-day visit, Barclay and Allardice met with the Chair of the PCB Management Committee, Najam Sethi and PCB officials, discussed wide-ranging matters of mutual interest around cricket, including promotion, growth and development.
Outside the PCB headquarters, Barclay and Allardice visited the National Cricket Academy, Lahore Fort, Lahore Museum, Safe City Project and Minar-e-Pakistan.
Greg Barclay said : “It has been great to be here. My approach has been to visit all the Member countries and see how cricket and cricket administration operates in their respective jurisdiction as every country and member different in terms of size, scale, economy and where they might sit in the cricketing hierarchy.
“From the ICC’s view, given that we have a strategy to grow the game globally, to see where the PCB fits in is also very pleasing. I am going to leave here well impressed with what I have seen.”
ICC Director,Najam Sethi,said :“I want to thank Greg and Geoff for undertaking this tour to Lahore, which provided both the ICC and the PCB with an opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the globally cricket ecosystem.
“The PCB looks forward to continuing our dis-cussions and working closely with the ICC to put together global strategies and plans that are not only in the best interest of all its members but also achieve the common objective of growing and developing the game by attracting new audiences.”
Pakistan will participate in the upcoming World Cup in India only if the country’s cricket board is provided with a guarantee that the hosts of the 50-over showpiece will return the favour by travelling across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) leadership placed the demand in front of the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Greg Barclay and chief executive Geoff Allardice on the second and final day of the officials’ tour to the board’s head-quarters on Wednesday.
The PCB’s interim Management Committee chairman Najam Sethi had recently warned that Pakistan boycotting the World Cup was “very much a possibility” in the back drop of Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) refusal to send its team to the country for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled in September.
The BCCI, so far, is also opposed to accepting the PCB-proposed “hybrid model” for the continental tournament, which would see group matches not involving India held in Pakistan before the event moves to a neutral venue Even if the proposal is accepted, the PCB would mull playing the World Cup at a venue outside India and would provide the latter the same option come the Champions Tro-phy.—APP
