Imran Khan hails Indo-Pak cricketing ties

Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), welcomed the revival of cricketing relationships between Pakistan and India, the arch-rival neighboring countries.

In his view, the resumption of one of the greatest rivalries will not only improve ties between the two countries but also helpful for the sport.

Earlier on Monday, India invited Pakistan for a three-match One-Day series in December-January, the first bilateral tournament since 2007.

New Delhi has stalled sporting ties with Islamabad in the wake of terror Mumbai attacks, which were blamed on militants based across the border.

Speaking to the media, the former winning captain of the world cup observed, “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”.

The lately visit by President Asif Ali Zardari to India helped in bringing thaw between the two countries. President Zardari asked Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to resume ties in all fields of life.

Earlier, India has also invited Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 champions Sialkot Stallions for qualifiers of the Champions League to be held in South Africa.

Imran Khan, who captained the Green-Shirts to World Cup victory in 1992, said the bilateral series between India and Pakistan will boost the game in the world.

He noted, “The prospect of India and Pakistan playing against each other is good news for international cricket because these matches are followed by millions across the world. The Indo-Pak matches are special because of the high tension and whoever deals with that extreme pressure comes out winner”.

The former great pacer said that the high tension in the bilateral game made it excited and worth watching competition.

Pakistan and India lastly met in the World Cup semi-finals in India in April 2011, with the latter coming out winner by 29 runs.

Khan was of the opinion that the semi-final between the two countries was a good instance of the tension and the excitement in the game.  He said India won the match despite it committed a lot of mistakes because Pakistan did more.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 18 2012. Filed under Pakistan, Society, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.