When the PCB domestic cricket committee officials were contacted regarding the development that the two players have been allowed to continue their careers, one of them stated: “Yes both Asif and Butt have been given permission to play the domestic one-day tournament and now they can appear for their team Wapda”. India had refused to play in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s home away from home, and Pakistan rejected the prospect of playing the series in India. “He has served five years of punishment and he deserves a second chance. But we are prepared to play whenever the Boards give the go-ahead”, he said. So when you play them in a multinational tournament in world events, then what stops you from playing them in a bilateral series. Today you see a lot of reaction from social media, but you still can’t say it’s the sense of the entire country.
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Thakur, who is also president of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha, insisted that it was time diplomacy was not swayed by social media on any engagement with Pakistan. “So that’s the question we have to answer”, Thakur was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.
“It all depends on PCB and the selectors, but it is my dream to stage a comeback into the national team”, said Amir.
They are travelling with the team but have not participated in any of the games for WAPDA.
New Delhi is clearly not willing to de-link sports from its political relations with Pakistan.
He added that the NDA government’s efforts were geared towards improving relations with all the neighbouring countries, including Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. “The moment we get the response, we will let everyone know”, said Shukla.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sold five franchise rights for the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL) for $93 million for a period of 10 years.
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The Lanka tie had seemed a certainty with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif giving it the nod on November 26. The chiefs of both boards Shashank Manohar and Shahryar Khan had met in Dubai on November 21 where differences over the venue were resolved, and Sri Lanka was agreed upon with December 15 being set as the tentative date subject to clearance from the two governments. There are also talks of a Test series in England sometime next year.
