International XI T20s a step in the right direction: http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ehsan-Mani-c55791 – Cricket News Update
Ehsan Mani, former International Cricket Council chief, has praised the efforts behind the World XI AO Trophy due to take place in Pakistan, lauding it for being a “small but significant” step towards the resumption of international cricket in Pakistan.
An International XI, coached and managed by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, for two T20s, on October 20 and 21, at the National Stadium in Karachi.
The event is significant, given the reluctance of foreign players and teams in visiting the country and playing on Pakistani soil since March 2009, when a terrorist attack on the touring Sri Lankan team put an end to international cricket in Pakistan.
“I do not think that these matches will have an immediate impact in persuading ICC Full Member teams to tour Pakistan but it is a step in the right direction,” Mani said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “The International XI is a small but significant step in the confidence building process to assure overseas players and teams that Pakistan is open for cricket and it is safe for overseas players to come to Pakistan.”
Since the 2009 attacks, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033.
In this regard, it is ironic that the board has disassociated itself from the recent event, which sees cricketers such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Ali-Shah-c76657, in collaboration with the local government in Karachi.
Although the series is a small but commendable step in the right direction, it has been dubbed an unofficial and unsanctioned tour by the PCB, and lacks the backing of both the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 and the Pakistan board – a fact which is likely to undermine its credibility as a step towards reviving international cricket in Pakistan.
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