LAHORE, Nov 16: Former Test opener and chief selector Aamir Sohail claimed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would miss a golden chance of reviving the Karachi centre for international matches by shifting the One-day match against England to any other venue under pressure of the ECB.

Talking to Dawn, Aamir blasted PCB chairman Shaharyar M Khan for issuing press statement that if the ECB would not agree then the board would consider shifting the match to any other venue.

“The chairman has been a seasoned diplomat and by issuing such statement he is encouraging the ECB to insist on change,” Aamir said.

A car bomb blast on Tuesday in Karachi raised an expected concern of the ECB, who had already refused to play a Test match in the city. Aamir declared that the match at Karachi was necessary because it would not allow India a chance to refuse to play in Karachi, a scheduled Test and One-day match, next year.

“By changing the venue against England, the case of Pakistan for hosting India in Karachi will become weak and then it will take a long time to bring back international cricket to the city,” Aamir said.

He also praised the performance of the Pakistan team which won the first Test against England at Multan to take 1-0 lead in three match series.

“It was the result of fighting spirit of the team which changed fortune and the bowlers really done a good job,” he said.