World Cup 2023: Former PCB chairman questions Pakistan government on committee supposed to take call on participation

The former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Khalid Mahmood has hit out at the government’s decision to form a high-level committee to decide on the national cricket team’s participation in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. Mahmood, in whose tenure Pakistan made a full tour of India in 1999 and who himself visited the neighbouring country in 1989 as manager of the junior team, said it made no sense to form this committee. “The interesting thing is that no representative of the main stakeholder, the Pakistan Cricket Board is on the committee,” Mahmood said in an interview. He cautioned that this was not the time to link Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup to the Asia Cup being held in Pakistan. “While I agree that there is no justification for India not to tour Pakistan now but this is not the way things are done at the international level.” Mahmood said by forming this committee of ministers, the government had itself contradicted its policy of not mixing politics with sports. “If you say that we are looking at security situation before deciding to send team to India, that makes sense, but to say openly that if India doesn’t come to Pakistan then we will also not send team to India for World Cup, is mixing both things, which we have never done.” Mahmood also questioned the need for the deep involvement of the government in PCB affairs and on whether to send the team for the World Cup. “When I was chairman in 1999, despite threats from India, we assessed the security situation for our team ourselves, by sending a delegation to India and advised the government we were willing to go to India.” He said the sensible thing to do now was to ensure the Pakistan team took part in the mega event or it could end up facing sanctions and also relations with other boards would be soured. Mahmood said whatever decision Najam Sethi had taken as chairman of the Cricket Management Committee on the Asia Cup should be honoured now. “I expect Zaka Ashraf to face an uncomfortable situation, when he attends the ICC meetings later this week, because of the formation of this committee and the statement made by minister, Ahsan Mazari.”