Mani backs Pakistan to do well at 2019 World Cup

Lahore

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has backed Men in Green to do well during the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in England and Wales.
While talking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, the 74-year-old was also optimistic about team’s chances at the mega event, despite losing the ongoing ODI series against Australia.
‘Pakistan team’s performance against Australia won’t impact our World Cup campaign,’ said Mani. ‘As seen from the Champions Trophy in 2017, it is quite clear that Pakistan team can overpower any side in world cricket. Teams will get chance to prepare for World Cup through series against England. If we hit our stride, there is a good chance for us to win the title.’
Mani was also not too bothered with the possibility of Indian team refusing to play Pakistan, during the upcoming mega event.
‘India does things like this for exhibition. The dangerous part of this is that the CoA of the board is in cahoots with the politicians. They talk rubbish,’ he said. ‘The attitude of the people working in BCCI is completely different. We have a good relationship with them and are in constant contact. I respect them too.’
He was optimistic of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh cricket teams visiting Pakistan in the near future. ‘We are hopeful of hosting Sri Lanka in the near future and I’m in contact with the islanders personally. There issue is sensitive because it was there team that came under attack in Lahore in 2009,’ he said. ‘We have a series with Bangladesh according to the future tours program. We are talking with them as well.’
The former ICC President also stressed on the need for a better domestic cricket structure. ‘The weaknesses in our national side stem from a poor domestic cricket structure,’ he said. ‘In our new system, we will try to fix all these issues because our performance internationally is closely linked to the way we carry ourselves in domestic cricket.’
He further stated: ‘In our new domestic setup, departments don’t develop players which is why their role will be restricted to sponsoring regions.’
Speaking about the proposed changes in domestic setup, Mani said that it would not affect the income of cricketers. ‘It is wrong to state that our new domestic structure will hamper players financially,’ he said. ‘Players of our Test side play for department and how can they be deprived of income?’
However Prime Minister Imran Khan recently rejected a proposal for domestic changes in the PCB.—AFP

The post Mani backs Pakistan to do well at 2019 World Cup appeared first on Pakistan Observer.

from Pakistan Observer https://ift.tt/2uD0ulm