Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani, while talking to Cricbuzz on Monday, brushed aside the speculation of the return of the dominating ‘Big 3’ in cricketing matters. The big three includes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia (CA) who can have significant influence in the decision making process of the sport’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC). While answering a question about whether the big 3 had made a comeback during these testing times, Mani claimed that he had no fears that some countries would put their own interest above that of world cricket. “PCB has no issues with BCCI. I do not have a fear that some countries will put their interests ahead of what is good for the game as a whole. We all owe a duty of care to the global game and the well-being of world cricket and not put our short term interests before it,” Mani said. The PCB Chairman stated that the financial impact of the postponed Asia Cup 2020 was negligible for Pakistan, while claiming that the tournament was important in generating funds for the emerging cricket nations in the region.

“The staging of the Asia Cup has been postponed due to circumstances beyond the control of any of the ACC countries. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board and the PCB agreed some time ago that Sri Lanka would host the next Asia Cup instead of Pakistan, as it is more likely that Sri Lanka will be in a position to host it as the Covid-19 impact there appears to be in better control than in most countries in our region. The financial impact on Pakistan is minimal; the importance of the Asia Cup is that it generates funds for the development of the emerging cricket nations in Asia. There is complete consensus within ACC on the timing of the Asia Cup,” he said. Mani talked about the importance of Indo-Pak clashes however he stated that a bilateral series was not in Pakistan’s future plans due to the policies of the Indian government. “Pakistan-India matches are the most watched cricket matches in the world. However, apart from ICC and ACC events we do not play against each other due to the policy of the Indian Government. It is good for the health of global cricket that we play against each other, however, in our planning we do not take into account any bilateral series against India,” he concluded.