ICC backs Pakistan men’s and women’s cricket to ‘reach another level’
Top ICC officials were in Pakistan on a two-day trip
The chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Greg Barclay, is confident that Pakistan men’s and women’s cricket will go from strength to strength in the future.
Barclay, along with Geoff Allardice, the ICC Chief Executive, visited the Pakistan cricket headquarters in Lahore on Tuesday and Wednesday and met with top PCB officials.
“It has been great to be here. My approach has been to visit all the member countries and see how cricket and cricket administration operates in their respective jurisdiction as every country and member is different in terms of size, scale, economy and where they might sit in the cricketing hierarchy,” Barclay was quoted as saying in a press release by the PCB.
“The cricket facilities in Pakistan and the cricket programmes are great and now, that international cricket has returned to Pakistan and the PCB is able to successfully deliver bilateral arrangements at home, I think we’ll see Pakistan cricket reach another level for both men and women, and that will also have a positive impact in terms of commercial upside.
“I enjoyed the briefing on the men’s and women’s cricket development plans and programmes at an administrative level and the progress that is being made. I think the future for Pakistan in terms of female participation and international successes is going to be huge in terms of potential.
“From the ICC’s view, given that we have a strategy to grow the game globally, to see where the PCB fits in is also very pleasing. I am going to leave here well impressed with what I have seen.”
Meanwhile, PCB Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi is also looking forward to working with the ICC for the betterment of the game.
“I want to thank Greg and Geoff for undertaking this tour to Lahore, which provided both the ICC and the PCB with an opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the globally cricket ecosystem,” said Sethi.
“The PCB looks forward to continuing our discussions and working closely with the ICC to put together global strategies and plans that are not only in the best interest of all its members but also achieve the common objective of growing and developing the game by attracting new audiences,” he added.
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