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USACA keen to host Pakistan, India matches
LAHORE: A senior official of the USA Cricket Association (USACA) on Saturday welcomed the proposal from an Indian government official to host limited-overs games between arch-rivals Pakistan and India at Florida’s stadium, approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
‘We are keen to have both the top teams of the sub-continent and we welcome India’s proposal in this regard,’ said Nabeel Ahmad, Senior Vice-President of the USACA while talking to the APP from Detroit on Saturday.
Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, in a statement recently, had said it would be better for India and Pakistan to resume limited-overs cricket ties at a neutral venue and the US could be an ideal choice because of larger Indian and Pakistan diehard cricket-loving community living in North America.
‘It is a very good proposal because everyone related to cricket wants Pakistan and India to resume their cricket as such events are always thrilling and entertaining,’ Nabeel added.
Asserting that the USACA is fully ready to host any such venture, he said they can arrange such a series even at a short notice.
Nabeel dispelled the impression that the US did not have an international-standard stadium.
‘To put the record straight we have an 8,000-capacity ICC approved stadium in Florida which can accommodate nearly 25,000 spectators with makeshift arrangements by erecting extra stands at the stadium,’ he revealed.
The ICC, the USACA official added, was keen to have international matches in the US because of growing passion for the game among the people here including the expatriates from the sub-continent and South East Asia.
‘Cricket is gaining rapid popularity in the US, specially Twenty20 cricket, and the youth is taking keen interest in it. More and more players are joining the game and we see a bright cricket future in the US because [the] market is full of sponsors.
‘We plan to build more international cricket stadiums with the passage of time in other parts of the US,’ he stated.
Nabeel said Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt had also stated recently that the US could host Twenty20 or One-day International games as the ICC was interested to have matches there on the basis that if teams could travel to play in the West Indies, then they could also explore the possibility of playing in the US.
‘It is a good gesture shown by the PCB. But we want to clarify that we are capable of hosting a full-fledged series, the way Abu Dhabi is hosting Pakistan’s ongoing ODI matches against New Zealand and the Dubai Sports City where two Twenty20 matches [between Pakistan and New Zealand] will be played,’ he explained.
‘If Abu Dhabi or Dubai can host successive matches, why can’t we?’ he asked. ‘There shouldn’t be any reluctance from the PCB or any other cricket board on this issue, because in the present circumstances they are playing at neutral venues where just one international-standard facility [stadium] is available,’ he maintained.
Nabeel reckoned the US has a vast range of sponsors and in the presence of growing number of sponsors, the BCCI and other boards have approached them to play in the US.
‘We anticipate hosting India or any other top cricketing nation in the near future to play Twenty20 cricket or a league on the pattern of the Indian Premier League (IPL),’ he said.—APP
DAWN.COM | Cricket | USACA keen to host Pakistan, India matches
LAHORE: A senior official of the USA Cricket Association (USACA) on Saturday welcomed the proposal from an Indian government official to host limited-overs games between arch-rivals Pakistan and India at Florida’s stadium, approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
‘We are keen to have both the top teams of the sub-continent and we welcome India’s proposal in this regard,’ said Nabeel Ahmad, Senior Vice-President of the USACA while talking to the APP from Detroit on Saturday.
Shashi Tharoor, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, in a statement recently, had said it would be better for India and Pakistan to resume limited-overs cricket ties at a neutral venue and the US could be an ideal choice because of larger Indian and Pakistan diehard cricket-loving community living in North America.
‘It is a very good proposal because everyone related to cricket wants Pakistan and India to resume their cricket as such events are always thrilling and entertaining,’ Nabeel added.
Asserting that the USACA is fully ready to host any such venture, he said they can arrange such a series even at a short notice.
Nabeel dispelled the impression that the US did not have an international-standard stadium.
‘To put the record straight we have an 8,000-capacity ICC approved stadium in Florida which can accommodate nearly 25,000 spectators with makeshift arrangements by erecting extra stands at the stadium,’ he revealed.
The ICC, the USACA official added, was keen to have international matches in the US because of growing passion for the game among the people here including the expatriates from the sub-continent and South East Asia.
‘Cricket is gaining rapid popularity in the US, specially Twenty20 cricket, and the youth is taking keen interest in it. More and more players are joining the game and we see a bright cricket future in the US because [the] market is full of sponsors.
‘We plan to build more international cricket stadiums with the passage of time in other parts of the US,’ he stated.
Nabeel said Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt had also stated recently that the US could host Twenty20 or One-day International games as the ICC was interested to have matches there on the basis that if teams could travel to play in the West Indies, then they could also explore the possibility of playing in the US.
‘It is a good gesture shown by the PCB. But we want to clarify that we are capable of hosting a full-fledged series, the way Abu Dhabi is hosting Pakistan’s ongoing ODI matches against New Zealand and the Dubai Sports City where two Twenty20 matches [between Pakistan and New Zealand] will be played,’ he explained.
‘If Abu Dhabi or Dubai can host successive matches, why can’t we?’ he asked. ‘There shouldn’t be any reluctance from the PCB or any other cricket board on this issue, because in the present circumstances they are playing at neutral venues where just one international-standard facility [stadium] is available,’ he maintained.
Nabeel reckoned the US has a vast range of sponsors and in the presence of growing number of sponsors, the BCCI and other boards have approached them to play in the US.
‘We anticipate hosting India or any other top cricketing nation in the near future to play Twenty20 cricket or a league on the pattern of the Indian Premier League (IPL),’ he said.—APP
DAWN.COM | Cricket | USACA keen to host Pakistan, India matches
