ICC assured me of a Test Series between India and Pakistan, claims Ehsan Mani

The former ICC chairman was elected as the PCB chairman for the next three years without any opposition. Soon after taking charge, Mani had briefed on the current affairs in Pakistan cricket and vowed to fix the issues prevalent between Indian and Pakistani cricket board regarding Test and ODI series. 

He further claimed that the ICC has assured him that even though a Test series between India and Pakistan wouldn't be possible in the cycle of 2019-21, the council would make sure that there happens one during the next cycle of 2021-23.

“The Test Championship is apparently in two cycles. For the 2019-21 cycle, they have already made their calendar. But I’ve been assured by the ICC that in the second cycle from 2021-2023, Pakistan and India will play each other,” he said.

Veteran cricketer, Imran Khan's tweet read “Disappointed at the arrogant & negative response by India to my call for the resumption of the peace dialogue. However, all my life I have come across small men occupying big offices who do not have the vision to see the larger picture.”

Khan also expressed his disappointment with the Indian ministry calling off their meeting along with the Pakistani ministry in New York. This closed all the diplomatic doors between India and Pakistan as India had stated that they won't have any meetings along with Pakistan. 

Ehsan Mani, in response to the tweet and the entire issue, mentioned that the boards of Pakistan and India should be keeping political tensions aside and start conducting cricket tours. He also mentioned that the boards didn't have any issue after the Kargil war and they should do the same for the current scenarios.

“First of all, Imran Khan’s tweet was a reaction to what happened in India. These kinds of statements should not be treated in isolation. The two boards should not fight amongst each other based on the political situation between the two countries.One should not forget we also had the Kargil war. Yet, the two boards never stopped having healthy dialogues. I remember how my colleagues from India—Jagmohan Dalmiya and Raj Singh Dungarpur—worked towards having India-Pakistan matches. And then we had a series in 2004. Even the International Olympic Council (IOC) is strict about not entertaining any political interference. We should also adopt the same approach,” he quoted.