PCB should stop pushing India, if they don’t want to play: Afridi

Afridi was referring to a planned Test series in the UAE with India, regarding which the PCB is yet to get confirmation from cricket officials in India as to whether the series will actually go ahead.

A source close to the players quoted by the Press Trust of India said some of the national team players were uncomfortable to see Butt, Asif and Aamir at the NCA training alongside the players and had conveyed this to their team management. We have invited them and if they do not want to play, then it shouldn’t be a worry.

Pakistan and India have signed a memorandum of understanding to play at least six series between 2015 and 2023 but cross-border tensions between the two nations have put the cricket relations on the backburner.

Since 2007, except for a short tour by Pakistan to India for a couple of limited over games in the winter of 2012-13, the two countries have not played against each other.

Pakistan has only hosted one global Test, which was against Zimbabwe last May, since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009. We have to work on the basic things and making them strong.

Afridi said he did not know what the Indian government’s decision would be. But I understand people from both countries want to see their teams play each other. “If we play each other it would be a bigger series than the Ashes”, he added.

Boom Boom Afridi said that PSL should be held in country with or without overseas players.

Pakistan cricket selectors have included rookie left-arm fast bowler Imran Khan Jr. and offspinner Bilal Asif for the two Twenty20s against Zimbabwe later this month in order to start getting ready for next year’s event in India.

The PCB has also announced the creation of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which will be played in February next year in Qatar.

“It would be great if PSL could have been held in Pakistan”, Afridi said. There are many players who impressed me in this (domestic) T20 cup, but we can’t afford to make many changes at once.

“I don’t think we need to push so much to play India”.