BCCI officials decline PCB's invitation to attend 2019 PSL final in Pakistan

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani on Thursday said that the BCCI has rejected its invitation to attend the PSL final to be held here on 17 March.

PCB chairman Mani said they had sent invitations to the ICC and all its affiliated boards to attend the Pakistan Super League (PSL) summit clash but the world body’s chairman Shashank Manohar, who is an Indian, and BCCI acting-president CK Khanna had cited personal engagements for their unavailability.

“Both Khanna and Manohar have refused to visit Pakistan to watch the final of the tournament citing personal engagements,” Mani said.

Mani, however, said ICC chief executive Dave Richardson will be in Karachi to watch the game.

“The idea behind sending the invitations is that when they come and see for themselves the arrangements for the final it will change the perception of people around the world about security in Pakistan and convince them it is safe to play international cricket in Pakistan,” he said.

Asked if Prime Minister Imran Khan would attend the PSL final, Mani refused to confirm.