‘Nothing against WT20 being held in India’
But PCB boss wants assurance from BCCI about the visas
Ehsan Mani, chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is arguably one of the most respected active cricket administrators in the game. Now 75, the former president of International Cricket Council (ICC) is the perfect example of someone being there and done that.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News over phone, Mani spoke candidly about the journey of Pakistan Super League (PSL) so far, the contentious issue of India’s delay in assuring travel visas for the T20 World Cup later this year to Pakistan team, support staff, fans to the Asia Cup. Following are the excerpts:
The sixth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has got underway earlier this week. How has the journey been so far?
Obviously, it’s been a very,
very good confidence building exercise in terms of convincing the overseas players that Pakistan was completely safe. We always felt that it was a safe country, but the decision to gradually shift the tournament to Pakistan was the final step.
There was a hiccup when in 2019 when IMG pulled out of telecasting and it created some concern but having got over that, we have moved on.
Only a few days back, you reiterated the demand for assurance of travel visas
from India for the T20 World Cup. What is the update on that front?
Well, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) was supposed to come up with a clear confirmation by December 31. Let me make it very clear that we have got nothing against the event being held in India, but we have to be absolutely sure that our players, support staff, fans and the media should get the necessary visas. The decision was postponed to January, but Sourav Ganguly (the BCCI president) was not well and they asked for more time, but now January has also passed.
In the last World T20 which was held in India in 2016, Pakistan had played there. Is there a reason for any apprehension about the visas on your part?
Yes, there was an unfortunate incident when in 2019, the Pakistan women’s team were supposed to play a ICC Qualifier there. The BCCI said they had written to the Indian government but did not get a response ... this went on for months and eventually, the Indian board said it was too late.
You had suggested that in case India cannot guarantee the visas, PCB would propose the event to be shifted to the UAE. Are you confident about UAE’s ability to host it?
We are absolutely confident that UAE can handle it but personally, I feel that the event should be hosted at where it’s meant to be held. The UAE has a strong cricketing infrastructure and we are confident about them hosting any event at the highest level.