As attempts to break the impasse over Pakistan’s planned boycott of the crucial T20 World Cup match against India pick up steam, Imran Khwaja, the deputy chair of the International Cricket Council, has departed for Lahore to meet with PCB officials.
As an associate member director with voting powers on the board, Khwaja, who represents Singapore in the ICC, is a powerful figure in the global governing body.
Khwaja has been selected by the ICC board as a mediator on the contentious issue, according to a source close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“He has been in talks with Mohsin Naqvi for a while now and he is reaching Lahore today to first talk to the PCB chief and also the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President, Aminul Islam before the virtual meeting this evening,” PTI quoted the source as saying.
Aminul met Naqvi on Sunday and is currently in Lahore. Aminul is anticipated to participate in the talks intended to convince Pakistan to change its mind about skipping the February 15 match against India in Colombo.
Naqvi hasn’t spoken much about the government’s orders to boycott the India match, but according to a trustworthy source, things have changed since the Sri Lankan cricket board emailed the PCB to ask them to lift the boycott.
Sanjog Gupta, the CEO of ICC, also traveled to Colombo to meet with Shammi Silva, the president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), who emailed Naqvi to invite him to play for India in the World Cup.
After the PCB attempted to skirt the issue by placing the blame on its government, the ICC has already asked Pakistan to explain how the “Force Majeure” clause can be used to defend the team’s decision to skip the T20 World Cup match against India.
However, there is now some hope because the PCB has asked the ICC to hold discussions, according to an ICC Director who believes the big match will eventually happen.
With the belief that the good of the game must take precedence over unilateral action, the ICC is now interacting with the board in an organized way to discuss potential solutions. Citing significant financial losses for all parties involved, Sri Lanka Cricket has cautioned PCB to reevaluate its choice.
In support with Bangladesh, who were supplanted by Scotland when they declined to travel to India for the World Cup matches due to security concerns, Pakistan chose to boycott the India match. The release of Bangladesh’s bowler Mustafziur Rahman from the KKR squad on the BCCI’s orders served as the catalyst for their withdrawal.
