The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Roger Binny and vice-president Rajeev Shukla arrived at Attari-Wagah border in Amritsar on Wednesday after concluding their visit to Pakistan.
Binny and Shukla travelled to Pakistan following an invitation to members of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and other cricket boards by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to attend Asia Cup matches taking place in Lahore. They also met players from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka teams at a gala dinner there.
Shukla said that the visit was a good one and hospitality of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was good. The board had demanded the resumption of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan, but it would be decided by the centre, said Shukla.
“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,” said Shukla.
Also, Binny termed the visit as a “fantastic experience”.
“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,” said Binny.
Notably, the final Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan will take place on Wednesday in Lahore between Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is the first match of the Super Four stage of the tournament, the rest of which will be played in Colombo.
From Group A, Pakistan and India have qualified for this stage. From Group B, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have qualified.
India will take on Pakistan on September 10, Sri Lanka on September 12 and Bangladesh on September 15.