Not scared of Shiv Sena threats: Zaka Ashraf

Indian govt gave clearance to Pakistan team, both countries will have to look for each other’s benefits, says Zaka.

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf said on Thursday that the board was not scared of threats from, Shiv Sena and advised party chief Bal Thackeray to renounce extremism and move forward with positive thinking, Express News reported.

Speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, Ashraf said that the Indian government had given clearance to the Pakistan cricket team and that both the countries will have to look for each other’s benefits.

He said that the PCB was holding talks with foreign cricket boards in order to revive international cricket in Pakistan.

Ashraf refused to mention any country that was planning to play in Pakistan because, he said, the forces planning against it will become active.

Shiv Sena threats may have failed to convince the India cricket board to shun the hugely-anticipated tour in December but it may put the return of Pakistan cricketers in the billion-dollar Indian Premier League (IPL) in jeopardy.

The improving ties between the Pakistan and India cricket boards, which resulted in the confirmation of a short series between the archrivals in December, also made the possibility of Pakistan players featuring in the IPL ‘higher than ever’. The last time Pakistan cricketers took part in the IPL was in 2008.