21:17
Unknown
KARACHI: Fast bowling legend Wasim Akram said on Tuesday he was confident Pakistan’s hotly-anticipated tour of India next month would pass off safely and urged the two sides to use threats by Hindu radicals as motivation.
Pakistan will meet their arch-rivals in five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s in December and January, their first full series since 2007, but Indian Hindu groups have urged Delhi to cancel and threatened protests.
The right-wing Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanded India refuse to resume cricket ties until Pakistan brings to justice the masterminds behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead.
India halted all bilateral cricket with Pakistan after Mumbai, but earlier this month approved the short tour announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July.
Wasim said he was hopeful of a trouble-free tour. “I can’t wait for this tour to happen,” Wasim told AFP. “I am confident that the Indian government will make this tour a happy and safe one for our team because the whole world is waiting for this and want it to be series reviving one.”
Wasim said all threats should act as motivation for both the countries.
“We toured India despite threats,” said Wasim, who led Pakistan on the India tour in 1999 despite Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitch at the Delhi stadium, forcing officials to move the first Test to Chennai.
Pakistan will meet their arch-rivals in five one-day internationals and two Twenty20s in December and January, their first full series since 2007, but Indian Hindu groups have urged Delhi to cancel and threatened protests.
The right-wing Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad demanded India refuse to resume cricket ties until Pakistan brings to justice the masterminds behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that left 166 people dead.
India halted all bilateral cricket with Pakistan after Mumbai, but earlier this month approved the short tour announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July.
Wasim said he was hopeful of a trouble-free tour. “I can’t wait for this tour to happen,” Wasim told AFP. “I am confident that the Indian government will make this tour a happy and safe one for our team because the whole world is waiting for this and want it to be series reviving one.”
Wasim said all threats should act as motivation for both the countries.
“We toured India despite threats,” said Wasim, who led Pakistan on the India tour in 1999 despite Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitch at the Delhi stadium, forcing officials to move the first Test to Chennai.
Posted in: Sports
0 comments:
Post a Comment