May 6, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1424

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LAHORE, May 5: A neutral venue will be the second best option available for the revival of cricketing ties between Pakistan and India if both are unable to play on a home-and-away series basis, according to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Lt Gen Tauqir Zia.

Gen Tauqir, who returned home after attending an Asian Cricket Foundation (AFC) meeting in Dubai at the weekend which had one point agenda regarding the postponed Asia Cup, that third venue cannot be ruled out.

“It is in the best interest of cricket if both countries visited each other, but if that is not possible, a neutral venue is the second best option available to Pakistan,” the PCB chairman remarked while talking to reporters here on Monday.

He said that if Pakistan would play their home series against India at a neutral venue then the Indians would also play their home series at any third venue.

He reminded that the ICC president Malcolm Grey had tabled the neutral venue proposal during a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad for which Pakistan had adopted the same stance.

When asked what interest Pakistani fans would have if both teams would be playing at a neutral venue, the PCB chief said mostly people were watching matches on TV.

To a question, he said that PCB had not offered India any invitation for a short series but it could have been possible if both countries had found sufficient time in 2003.

The general appreciated that there were positive signals from both governments which resulted in boosting hopes of a breakthrough in the AFC meeting regarding cricketing ties between Pakistan and India.

“It was a normal meeting, confined to the Asia Cup. But as Pakistan has refused to take part in this tournament and since it hurt India’s cricket, therefore, the meeting became important for both countries,” Gen Tauqir added.

The PCB chairman said that he was optimistic that a positive result would soon yield.

“The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has written a letter to the Indian government the other day to seek fresh directives regarding the resumption of series. But as the reply cannot come in 24 hours, so I can’t say any more about it further,” he conceded.

He admitted that the efforts Pakistan had been making for three and half years to revive cricket relations with India, had remained fruitless.

“The way Indian government denied visas to a Pakistani school team and one of our officials as well as refusing to follow an ICC scheduled tour to Pakistan in February prove they have no sincerity in resuming cricketing ties with Pakistan which forced us to boycott the Asia Cup,” he explained.

PCB chief said that he took the decision with the consent of the President of Pakistan.

He said that PCB made a revised schedule of tours for both the countries till 2011.

Unfolding details of that plan, the chairman informed that according to the ICC 10-year plan Pakistan had to tour India in 2004. But according to the PCB plan India should come to Pakistan that year in place of its cancelled tour in 2003. Similarly, according to the new draft, India would visit Pakistan three times and Pakistan will go there twice till 2011.

The general said that a copy of the draft had been given to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The same draft would be sent to ICC once PCB had received a response from the BCCI.

He believed cricket cannot survive in Asia if both India and Pakistan don’t play against each other.

He reminded that Asia fought unitedly and got funds from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the development of the game in this continent. But if Asia would not remain united, the world body could demand the funds back and that would definitely disgrace Asia.

When asked what is the future of AFC and ACC, the PCB chief admitted that the real advantage of those institutions was only when all the Asian countries moved in unison.

He said that ACC had played a positive role for Pakistan which forced New Zealand to tour Pakistan in 2002.

To a question, Gen Tauqir said that ICC had taken a harsh stand during the World Cup when it rejected the request of both New Zealand and England to shift their matches from Kenya and Zimbabwe on political and security grounds. He hoped that in future the world body would adopt a more sensible approach in this connection. 

The general asserted that Pakistan had always been a safe country and there was no security problem at all. “I think the security has never been the problem in Pakistan. It was the perception of some people who created it for their own interest. People of Pakistan want to see foreign teams play here.”

When asked will PCB arrange matches of the forthcoming home series against Bangladesh and South Africa in Karachi, Gen Tauqir firmly asked the questioner is there any problem in that city?

When asked to comment on a statement of PCB marketing director that the cricket board would have its own TV channel, Gen Tauqir, perplexed by the question, said: “Some people are dreaming, it is better to let them dream on.”

But in the next instance, PCB chief realised the factual position and said the idea was not bad but it demanded a lot of money.