PCB decides to send only former greats as ambassadors to India
The Pakistan Cricket Board, despite facing pressure to entertain and send VIP guests to India for the coming T20 and One-day matches, has decided to only send some former greats who will be going there as ambassadors of goodwill.
The Pakistan Cricket Board, despite facing pressure to entertain and send VIP guests to India for the coming T20 and One-day matches, has decided to only send some former greats who will be going there as ambassadors of goodwill.
A PCB source said on Saturday that there were many influential personalities in the government and other corridors of power who were keen to go to India.
"It is after a long time that Pakistan is playing a bilateral series in India and since it is a short tour lot of people are interested in going there," the source said. He said the board had decided to assist the VIPs in the visa process and also provide them with match tickets but rest of their expenses would be borne by themselves.
"The board will not send any big delegation of VIPs including ministers or government officials on board expenses", the source said.
The PCB will only provide them with tickets and help them get visas, the source said. He said Chairman, Zaka Ashraf had instructed to keep expenses on the tour to a minimum since Pakistan would not be getting any revenues from the series.
"At the moment the board has decided to send around seven to eight former greats to India as a delegation of goodwill ambassadors and if the Board of Control for India sends invites then some VVIP might be entertained," another source said.
The former greats include Intikhab Alam, Hanif Muhammad, Sadiq Muhammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Bari, Mushtaq Mohammad, Majid Khan.
Former captains, Imran Khan and Javed Burki have expressed their inability to travel to India due to their commitments.
In the past whenever Indo-Pak series has been played the board faced a lot of pressure to send VIP delegations on its own expenses.
The source said that while Pakistan might not be getting revenues from the coming series but the Chairman is hopeful that he can convince the BCCI to schedule a full series in August next year when both countries have open windows in the future tours program of the ICC.