Prime Minister Narendra Modi to invite Commonwealth nations to use BCCI's cricket facilities at CHOGM summit

The Government of India it seems has decided to use cricket to further its international relations, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to invite members of the Commonwealth to make use of their facilities.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the Ministry of External Affairs has been in touch with members of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the matter, with Modi slated to make the announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) summit, which is to take place in London and Windsor between 16 to 20 April.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the central government and the BCCI in the near future, which will allow two to three members of the Commonwealth to tour India for camps, with the Indian board to bear the expenses on behalf of those nations.

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI

"CEO Rahul Johri and Saba Karim (General Manager, Cricket Operations) had a few meetings with the Ministry of External Affairs and also with the Sports Ministry. The paperwork is almost complete. The Indian board will lend its support to countries who come under the Commonwealth.

"As India is a powerhouse in world cricket, the government wanted the board to lend a helping hand to these countries and let them use the top-class facilities," a source was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Among the nations that India has helped as far as cricket is concerned happens to be Afghanistan, a nation that had been charting a meteoric rise in the sport, and recently became the newest entrant in Test cricket, alongside Ireland. The BCCI had allowed Afghanistan to shift their base from the UAE to India and to make full use of its facilities. Afghanistan is set to play its first Test in its adoptive home against the Indian team later this summer.