Abbas fears BCCI may scuttle Bangladesh tour of Pakistan

Lahore: Pakistan`s former Test captain Zaheer Abbas fears that the Indian Cricket Board might try to sabotage plans by Bangladesh to send its team here next year in April.

Zaheer, who married an Indian national, said the Pakistan Cricket Board should never rule out the possibility of the Indians exerting influence over Bangladesh when the time came to making the final decision. PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf recently met his Bangladesh board counterpart Mostafa Kamal after which it was announced by the BCB that it would be sending its team to Pakistan next year subject to clearance by a security delegation that will visit Pakistan in January. The BCB apparently accepted Pakistan`s invitation after the PCB agreed to not field a candidate for the post of vice-president and President of the ICC. According to ICC regulations, Pakistan and Bangladesh have to nominate a joint candidate for the post by December 31. The PCB has agreed to accept Mostafa Kamal as joint candidate for the ICC positions. "I think there`s a possibility of undue Indian influence over the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which is worrying,? Zaheer said. "Bangladesh may end up backing out of the tour because of this influence after obtaining PCB`s support over the ICC presidency," the former captain cautioned. Former captain Rashid Latif has also voiced concerns that it will be interesting to see if Bangladesh keep their part of the bargain when the time comes. "Let us see what happens. There is no doubt we need to have any international team playing in Pakistan soon. But we have to see if the Bangladesh board meet their commitment because the joint candidate`s name will be sent to the ICC by December 31," Latif said. "The Indian board because of its financial clout does command great influence over cricket authorities in Bangladesh and even Sri Lanka and other countries. And frankly speaking they have not been very supportive of Pakistan cricket since this set up took command of the Indian board," he noted. PTI