Karachi: Imran Khwaja, deputy chair of the International Cricket Council, has left for Lahore to meet PCB officials as efforts to resolve the standoff over Pakistan’s proposed boycott of the high-stakes T20 World Cup match against India gather pace.
Khwaja, who represents Singapore in the ICC, is an influential figure in the world governing body and has voting rights on the board as an associate member director.
A source close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed Khwaja has been nominated by the ICC board as a mediator on the controversial subject.
“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,” the source said.
Aminul is already in Lahore and has met Naqvi Sunday. Aminul is expected to be part of the discussions aimed at persuading Pakistan to reconsider its decision not to play India in Colombo February 15.
Naqvi has not commented much on the instructions from the government to boycott the India match but a reliable source said the situation has changed after the Sri Lankan cricket board sent an email to the PCB, urging them to end the boycott.
ICC CEO, Sanjog Gupta has also been to Colombo to meet with the President of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Shammi Silva who sent the email to Naqvi to play the India match in the World Cup.
The ICC has already sought an explanation from Pakistan on how the ‘Force Majeure’ clause can be invoked to justify the team’s refusal to play the T20 World Cup match against India after the PCB tried to wriggle out of the situation by putting the onus on its government.
But there is a glimmer of hope now as PCB has approached the ICC for deliberations, as per an ICC Director, who feels that the marquee clash will eventually take place.
The ICC is currently engaging with the board in a structured manner to explore possible resolutions, with a view that the interest of the game must supersede unilateral action.
Sri Lanka Cricket has warned PCB to reconsider its decision citing huge financial losses for all stakeholders.
Pakistan decided to boycott the India match in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland after they refused to travel to India for the World Cup matches citing security concerns.
The trigger for Bangladesh’s withdrawal was the release of their pacer Mustafziur Rahman from the KKR squad on BCCI’s instructions.
