A file photo of Shahryar Khan addressing a press conference at Gaddafi stadium, Lahore. PHOTO: Malik Shafiq/ Express
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants the International Cricket Council’s task force on Pakistan to pay a visit to the country to speed up the process of revival of international cricket in Pakistan.
After PCB chairman Shahryar Khan complained at the ICC’s executive board meeting in Barbados that the task force was unable to deliver on its own recommendations, it was revived by the council to look into the situation.
"Shaharyar pointed out that the task force had itself said that former England captain, Mike Brearly and members should visit Pakistan to make a first hand assessment of the situation in Pakistan," a well-informed source in the PCB told Press Trust of India on Sunday.
"Shahryar also noted that the task force had promised to assist in the revival of international cricket in Pakistan by trying to send a commonwealth or international eleven side to the country for some matches but no progress was made on this front as well," the source added.
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The source added that PCB chairman presented his case by saying that they have worked on the recommendations of the task force and incorporated a democratic constitution together with improving the domestic cricket setup.
"It was when Shaharyar brought up the issue of the role of the task force that a debate was held on it and it was decided to revive the body. He will now hold some meetings with the head of the task force Giles Clarke in London as he is there in July," the source said.
Shahryar had also accused the task force of incompetence, in the recent past, by saying that they prepared a report on Pakistan cricket without even visiting the country.
Read: Zimbabwe have opened the gate for cricket in Pakistan, says Shahryar Khan
The task force was originally put in place after the Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists in 2009. Six Pakistani policemen died in the incident while a van driver and some visiting players were injured.
No team was ready to visit Pakistan after the incident until PCB convinced Zimbabwe to become the first Test nation to play a series in Pakistan in May. The series turned out to be a huge success with full house crowds.
The story was originally published by DNA India
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