Monitoring Desk
KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi and Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmad will be traveling to India on April 21 to attend an International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting.
A PCB official told the media that Sethi is also likely to meet his Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) counterpart to discuss the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between the famous arch-rivals.
The source also confirmed that only two PCB officials were issued visas to attend the meetings, which will take place in Kolkata on April 22, and that the ICC played a vital role in the matter.
The visa issuance to Sethi and Subhan can be termed as a real breakthrough between the two neighboring countries, as in the past 15 months, the Indian High Commission has turned down visa applications from different Pakistani sporting contingents including hockey, squash, blind cricket and wrestling.
The source also confirmed that during the ICC meeting, security arrangements in Pakistan during the recently concluded series of West Indies and Pakistan Super League (PSL) playoffs will be discussed in detail.
“Sethi and Subhan will be flying to Kolkata on April 21 for the meetings during which Pakistan’s security arrangements and organisation of the PSL matches and T20I series against West Indies in Lahore and Karachi will be discussed,” told the official.
The head of the ICC’s special task force on Pakistan cricket — Giles Clarke — will also submit a report on the return of international matches to the country.
The ICC meetings will also allow board officials to discuss different possibilities, and it is also expected that Sethi will try and convince the ICC to hold some board meetings at the PCB headquarters in Lahore.
The upcoming annual ICC meeting is to be held in Dublin in June followed by another meeting in October in the West Indies.
