Ready to play India in India: Shaharyar Khan

PCB chairman presents option of neutral venue too, says BCCI needs to agree to play first

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan on Thursday said they are ready to play India in India and also on a neutral venue.

Political tensions between the countries have affected Pakistan-India cricketing relations, with the two teams last facing each other in 2012 in a bilateral series in India. Since then, the Indian government has kept stalling proposals for another series by delaying permissions to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), much to the detriment of cricket since matches between the two countries are the most watched ones across the world.

Shaharyar, while addressing media at the Karachi Press Club, said that they are ready to weigh all the options but first the BCCI needs to agree to play against Pakistan.

“Yes, it is possible,” said Shaharyar. “We are ready to play in India. Although we will have a lot of security threats there, but we are ready to play in India if they offer it to us. Also, we are ready to face them in a third country (a neutral venue), but first they need to agree to play against us. They are not ready, so how can anything happen?”

Meanwhile, on a question about the status of the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi’s first-ever four-star cricket academy, Shaharyar said that it is in its finishing phase.

“The academy in Karachi is ready. Now we will advertise to find a chief for the academy. We’ll see who comes forward and then we’ll decide who to give the responsibility to,” he explained.

The Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) second edition ended with a landmark final in Lahore and the league is being touted to grow bigger with every tournament. When asked about the audit of the second edition of the PSL, Shaharyar said it is being done. “The audit is taking place. It took place last year and it is taking place this year too.”