Dubai, Aug 25: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Lt Gen Tauqir Zia has expressed the hope that India will go ahead with their tour of Pakistan in January next year, their last-minute withdrawal from the Sahara Cup in Toronto notwithstanding. “I am not a pessimist. I would still like to think that cricket will be viewed separately from politics in the end,” Gen Zia was quoted as saying in the Dubai-based Khaleej Times. He said, “Though India have refused to play Pakistan in the Sahara Cup this year due to non-cricketing reasons, I would like to see India play Pakistan in Pakistan in the larger interest of the game in general and millions of fans in the sub-continent in particular.” Gen Zia said he had not spoken to his Indian counterpart in this regard, "because I believe that there is little in the hands of the Indian Board about this tour. But one thing is certain — if this tour fails to go ahead, the chances of Pakistan's return tour to India will be minimal.” The Indian government refused permission to the cricket team to travel to Toronto for the Sahara Cup to play Pakistan because of the violence in Kashmir. Last year too, India did not play against Pakistan in Toronto and both teams played some matches against the West Indies. On an international cricket series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai next month, which has since been put off, Gen Zia said Pakistan never said no to playing in Dubai against India or Sri Lanka. “In fact, we tried our best to make sure the event goes ahead. But unfortunately, there were some formidable organisational problems.” PCB Marketing Executive Zahid Basheer, who signed an unprecedented $7 million TV right deal with a private Indian network for the Indo-Pak series in January, was quoted as expressing confidence that the Indian team will go ahead with the tour as scheduled. “The interest in the Indian cricket team's tour to Pakistan is unprecedented and I don't see any reason why it would be called off,” he said. Bashir said there would be no winners if the tour was called off. Meanwhile, the PCB chief dismissed any future proceedings on the match-fixing report of justice Malik Abdul Qayyum, saying as far as the PCB was concerned, the chapter was closed. “Boys are more disciplined and professional in their approach today though there is always an extra room for improvement. Captain Moin Khan has filled in well for Wasim Akram and I would like to see the combination going till the next world cup in South Africa in 2003,” Gen Zia said. He said, “Wasim Akram is a jewel for Pakistan and like every cricket fan in Pakistan, I would like to see him to continue till the next World Cup.”

— UNI