Pakistan government advice a must on bilateral cricket ties with India: PCB chief Najam Sethi

Najam Sethi, the interim head of the PCB management committee, said on Thursday that he will abide by the government's recommendations with regard to cricket relations with India. Sethi was chosen to lead a 14-member committee for the next four months to oversee the game in the nation after Ramiz Raja was ousted as PCB chairman.

Since the 2008 Asia Cup, India has not traveled to Pakistan, and the planned bilateral series in early 2009 was postponed in the wake of the Mumbai terrorist attack on November 26 of that same year. Although there was a six-match white-ball series between Pakistan and India in 2012, there has been no bilateral cricket in the past ten years.

"Governments in both countries have to be consulted when it comes to bilateral and other cricket relations between Pakistan and India," Sethi told reporters in Lahore.

The only time the two teams have come together have been at ICC and ACC tournaments. The PCB threatened to pull out of the 50-over World Cup, which will be held in India next year, when ACC president and BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced that India will not come to Pakistan for the 50-over Asia Cup in September 2023.

"I don't know whether there is a need to make changes in the squad, we will see if fresh ideas are required. It would have been better if the squad had not been announced," he said.

The team for the New Zealand series was announced by the current chief selector, Muhammad Wasim, despite the government's notification on Wednesday night confirming the management committee's appointment and removing Ramiz Raja.

Sethi made it clear that the Board would undergo reforms, particularly those that affected cricket-related matters.

"I think we had done a good job in our four-five-year tenure before I resigned. But what has happened in the last four years everyone can see," he said.

It would be Sethi's fourth time serving as the PCB chief; he left his previous position in 2018 after Imran Khan was elected prime minister of Pakistan.

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