The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny and vice-president Rajeev Shukla returned to India on Wednesday following a two-day trip to Pakistan to oversee the ongoing Asia Cup 2023. After a lengthy 15-year absence, Pakistan hosted the continental event, with four matches scheduled there.
Roger Binny and Rajeev Shukla visited Pakistan after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) extended an invitation to members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and other cricket boards to attend Asia Cup matches being played in Lahore and the Indian officials also met the players of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka during a dinner event.
Speaking to the media, Rajeev Shukla expressed his appreciation for the hospitality extended by the Pakistan Cricket Board and revealed that the PCB had requested that cricket between the two countries should resume. He also said that the Indian government would decide if India would visit Pakistan in the foreseeable future.
“It was a two-day visit and a good visit. The Governor hosted a dinner in our honour. The hospitality of the people of the Pakistan Cricket Board was also good.
“Their demand was that cricket between the two countries should be resumed, we said it would be decided by govt and we would do whatever our govt would say. It was a cricket visit and there was no political agenda,” Rajeev Shukla said.
All of India’s and Pakistan’s bilateral ties in cricket are currently on hold for political and security concerns. Both the teams only square off against one another during ICC events or the Asia Cup and do not play any bilateral series against one another.
We Were Treated Like Kings Over There, So It Was An Excellent Time For Us – Roger Binny
The BCCI President Roger Binny described the trip as a terrific experience and recalled his tour of Pakistan in 1984. Besides, he stated that they were ‘treated like kings’. He also said they were pleased with the results of their trip to the neighbouring nation.
“It was a fantastic experience. Like when we played the test match in 1984 the same hospitality was given to us. We were treated like kings over there, so it was an excellent time for us.
“We were able to meet all the Pakistan officials and the Pakistan Cricket Board. They are very happy with the outcome of us coming there as we were so happy to be there also at the same time,” Roger Binny said.
The last bilateral series between the two arch-rivals had taken place in the 2012/13 season when the Men in Green visited India for a white-ball tour. The last Test series between the two countries took place way back in 2007 following which both the teams have never faced each other in the longer format of the game due to the strained relationship between the two neighbouring countries.