After a gap of 17 years, two senior officials from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), President Roger Binny and Vice-President Rajeev Shukla, have made a historic visit to Pakistan. They arrived in Lahore on Monday after crossing the Attari-Wagah border, responding to an invitation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to attend the Asia Cup.
Rajeev Shukla, a seasoned politician, emphasized the importance of not mixing politics with cricket. Meanwhile, PCB's chief, Zaka Ashraf, expressed his hope that the BCCI's acceptance of the invitation would contribute positively to improving the relations between the two cricket boards.
At the Wagah border, it was Zaka Ashraf, the head of the PCB management committee, who welcomed the BCCI officials and escorted them to Lahore's Gadaffi Stadium. During their visit, Binny and Shukla are scheduled to watch a couple of Super Four Games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The last time an Indian cricket team visited Pakistan was in 2008 for the Asia Cup, and the last bilateral series between India and Pakistan took place in 2006. Pakistan's cricket team last visited India for a bilateral white-ball series in 2012.
Initially, the BCCI had declined to send its team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, leading to the adoption of a ""Hybrid Model"" arrangement for the tournament. However, in a positive gesture, the BCCI approved the participation of former Test player Roger Binny and Congressman Rajeev Shukla in a dinner hosted by the Governor of the Punjab province in Pakistan.
#RogerBinny #India #Pakistan #AsiaCup #Bangladesh #Nepal #SriLanka #Afghanistan #RajeevShukla #BCCI #PCB #HWNews
Rajeev Shukla, a seasoned politician, emphasized the importance of not mixing politics with cricket. Meanwhile, PCB's chief, Zaka Ashraf, expressed his hope that the BCCI's acceptance of the invitation would contribute positively to improving the relations between the two cricket boards.
At the Wagah border, it was Zaka Ashraf, the head of the PCB management committee, who welcomed the BCCI officials and escorted them to Lahore's Gadaffi Stadium. During their visit, Binny and Shukla are scheduled to watch a couple of Super Four Games on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The last time an Indian cricket team visited Pakistan was in 2008 for the Asia Cup, and the last bilateral series between India and Pakistan took place in 2006. Pakistan's cricket team last visited India for a bilateral white-ball series in 2012.
Initially, the BCCI had declined to send its team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, leading to the adoption of a ""Hybrid Model"" arrangement for the tournament. However, in a positive gesture, the BCCI approved the participation of former Test player Roger Binny and Congressman Rajeev Shukla in a dinner hosted by the Governor of the Punjab province in Pakistan.
#RogerBinny #India #Pakistan #AsiaCup #Bangladesh #Nepal #SriLanka #Afghanistan #RajeevShukla #BCCI #PCB #HWNews
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Your Excellency, Governor of Karachi, Chairman of the Pakistan Tricking Board,
00:06 Members of the Pakistan Tricking Board, Players of the four teams,
00:14 Ladies and Gentlemen, and Honourable Delegates,
00:23 On behalf of the BCCI, I would like to thank the Pakistan Tricking Board for the invitation
00:31 to tonight's program. I bring you greetings from the BCCI and from the cricket lovers of India.
00:41 As Your Excellency said that India-Pakistan is one of the biggest ever games that is played.
00:50 I can tell you, Sir, when India plays Pakistan, everything comes to a standstill. People don't
00:56 work, the roads are empty, everybody is in front of a television watching cricket. So,
01:02 that's how big cricket is, especially in Pakistan. I do look forward to many more games like that.
01:10 And India-India loves to have cricketers.
01:17 And we had a lovely game the other evening at Tandy, which unfortunately would have been an
01:23 excellent game if it had carried on, but the weather was quite sporty and we didn't get to
01:29 see the finish. I must thank the Pakistan Tricking Board for the hospitality from the time we crossed
01:38 the border this afternoon. We had the press people at the hotel, there were loads of them with
01:46 cameras and everyone wanted a photograph to interview. It was a wonderful experience.
01:53 We had the hotel staff who came to greet us. That was another wonderful experience.
02:00 And overall, I told the Pakistanis always with so much of want, so much of hospitality.
02:11 I as a player, a video on one of the series and we saw it all. We went shopping into the
02:20 stores, people would invite us in, give us a drink, give us coffee and talk cricket. That's
02:27 all you want to do. There's always a passion to come back. I've had some lovely times with
02:35 Pakistan. Two memorable games that come to mind is one of the matches where Pakistan needed five
02:44 runs off the last ball and here comes Javin Vigard and offsets all the rules to six. We lost that game.
02:50 That's that I remember very well. And the other game was when India was short out for 125
02:58 and we didn't manage to pull back and win that game. Those were two very, very memorable games.
03:05 Which we can't forget. And it's always an opportunity to
03:11 hold on in our mind when we see India and Pakistan play.
03:16 As once again, I would like to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board for all your hospitality,
03:23 Chairman Sir, and your excellency and the lovely words you said spoke about
03:30 India and Indian cricket. And we look forward to so many more vessels in the future.
03:35 Thank you.
03:35 Well, Honourable Governor of Punjab, Mr. Rahman Sir, the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board,
03:43 Mr. Rambasirap Sir, who is an award fan, the President of DCCID, the team Pakistan,
03:51 team Sri Lanka, team Bangladesh, team Afghanistan, and the officials and office
03:58 bearers of Bangladesh Cricket Board and the respective other boasts. I'm reading and
04:02 interacting from Punjab. I found an opportunity in Asia Cup to visit Raour once again.
04:10 I've been here several times and I love this city.
04:15 You go to different scenes whenever you come to Lahore. The fandom, the hospitality,
04:23 the personal touch, the behaviour which people in the city coerce to. You are always clever,
04:31 bluster, talented and delighted to be here. I remember in 2004,
04:39 we had brought the initiative to Pakistan, their tour had been finalised and there were many
04:46 apprehensions about the security. Our players were also scared. And then I had spoken with
04:51 the Afghanistan authorities and Mr. Dainia, the President, he was also determined that
04:58 we had to send him to Pakistan and then he had to come here. And after that,
05:02 I would like to remind you that 2004 series followed by 2006 series,
05:11 that was the golden era of India-Pakistan relation. Cricket is a trap to the blues.
05:19 Cricket helps a lot of people together. It isn't what happened when we were playing here.
05:26 So cricket is one thing which can develop the bond between the nations and can bring nations
05:32 together. And these are our players, they are very popular, they are equally popular in India also.
05:37 Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, we have several top players. I was in the serial
05:42 telly yesterday in Kerala and watching all the games. So this is one thing which can find people,
05:49 which can bring people together. And the anchor lady was mentioning about Lahore.
05:55 So, "Janu Lahore mein ekhyaate janminiyaane" that's the actual Punjabi text. She translated in English.
06:02 So, Lahore is one thing and you know this is a historic large house where Nehru had come,
06:10 Governor Nehru had come and he had signed 101 Lahore to Pakistan. This is the same place when I
06:17 had come with Mr. Atul very last week and this crowning moment, he had addressed the gathering
06:23 and he had also had a crowning moment with Lahore and Pakistan, driven by what he had mentioned.
06:29 So, this is one place which is very historical and I always get very emotional and you know whenever
06:35 I come here, I am very sensitive. So, I am too happy, too delighted to be here. I wish all the
06:42 best with the playing teams in Asia Cup. Asia Cup is going very successful and this is one thing,
06:49 next couple of months we are playing World Cup and India is hosting that World Cup. So,
06:55 when the teams are going to be there, we welcome them in advance and on behalf of BCCI, I assure
07:01 you that all sorts of prosperity will be reminded there and since our BCCI Secretary is the chairman
07:09 of the Asian Inter-Country Council, so we are honored making our presence here and
07:19 it is somewhat of a commitment that we will keep on promoting cricket not only in
07:27 self-contained training but throughout the world, 10 to 10 years in a row.
07:31 Thank you.