Imran welcomes resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan today welcomed the decision to revive the bilateral cricket ties with India, saying the on-field contest between the two nations was good for the sport.
"I welcome India's decision to revive cricket with Pakistan. Anything which can bring both the countries to negotiations and normalcy is very good and we must appreciate that," Khan told reporters.
"The prospect of India and Pakistan playing against each other is a good news for international cricket," he added.
India and Pakistan last played in a bilateral series in 2007 as the cricketing ties between them froze following 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.
The BCCI's Working Committee yesterday decided to invite Pakistan for a short ODI series in December this year.
Khan said an India-Pakistan match is all about some high-voltage cricket and emotions running very high.
"The Indo-Pak matches are special because of the high tension and whoever deals with that extreme pressure comes out winner," said the 1992 World Cup winning team captain.
"That semi-final in Mohali is a good example of the tension and the excitement. India committed a lot of mistakes in that match but they won because Pakistan did more mistakes in comparison and that's why they lost," he said.
There have been several attempts by the Pakistan Cricket Board in recent months to convince the BCCI for a resumption as the contests featuring the two arch-rivals are a huge hit with fans and generate good revenue.
The thaw in the relations was evident much earlier when the BCCI invited Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 champion Sialkot Stallions to participate in the Qualifying Tournament of Champions League Twenty20 to be held in South Africa later this year.
The process actually started last year during the World Cup semifinal clash between the two sides in Mohali where Prime Ministers of both the countries were present and even met each other on the sidelines.
