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'Playing Ahmedabad ODI no climbdown'
PCB chief Shaharyar Khan talks about the Ahmedabad issue, the Indian public and Shoaib Akhtar in an interview with Kadambari Murali.
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shaharyar Khan, a former diplomat, is in the hot seat at the moment with all the controversy generated over the forthcoming India-Pakistan series.
In an interview to Hindustan Times from Lahore, he talks about the Ahmedabad issue, the Indian public and Shoaib Akhtar, among other things. Excerpts:
Q: Isn't agreeing to play in Ahmedabad a major climbdown from your initial stand, when you said you would play neither a Test nor a one-dayer in Ahmedabad?
A: Not at all. We had made a request to the BCCI to change the venue to one of the 25 other Test centres available to BCCI. After all, in 1999 BCCI had moved the Test from Mumbai to Chennai on its own.
There were no ultimatums or prestige issues involved and as before, the two boards settled the matter in an amicable manner, each understanding the other's constraints.
Q: Many people have come out and stated that your stand on Ahmedabad was a combination of a 'tit-for-tat' because of India's refusal to play Tests in Karachi and Peshawar and because of political compulsions like fear of pressure from the Pakistani right-wing. Subsequently, you denied those statements and said your fears were based on security concerns. Did the ruckus in India cause the clarification?
A: There was no 'tit-for-tat' or a ruckus between the two boards — we have always had cordial relations and good understanding.
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