Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President, Roger Binny, and Vice President, Rajeev Shukla, visited the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, September 05 to watch the final Asia Cup 2023 group stage match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. They are currently in a historic visit to Pakistan, following their invitation by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as part of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) members, to attend an official dinner in Lahore. This dinner was organized to celebrate Pakistan’s hosting of the tournament.
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On Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board hosted the special dinner for BCCI President Roger Binny and Vice President Rajeev Shukla. Also in attendance were the officials from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Nepal Cricket Board. The Pakistan Cricket Board extended a warm welcome to Roger Binny and Rajeev Shukla, who had reached Pakistan via the Attari-Wagah border.
Roger Binny and Rajeev Shukla, leading the BCCI delegation, also met with players from Pakistan and Afghanistan during the grand dinner organised by the PCB. Additionally, they also met with members of the Sri Lankan and Afghan teams during this event. This is the first time a BCCI official has visited Pakistan since the Asia Cup of 2008 that was played in Lahore and Karachi.
Speaking to the press in Lahore, Vice President Shukla stated, “BCCI delegation has come here. Asia Cup is going on and is being hosted by Pakistan. ACC chief is the BCCI secretary. It was suitable for us to come here because Pakistan is hosting. We were in Kandy in Sri Lanka too before this. Now, we have come here on invitation by PCB and we will watch the Asia Cup matches. We will go from here with some goodwill.”
Shukla emphasized that their two-day visit had no political motives; it was solely focused on cricket. He clarified, “This two-day visit is purely from the point of view of cricket, nothing political, a dinner has been hosted and three teams will be there – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.”
BCCI president Binny, who is making his first visit to Pakistan since 2006, expressed his anticipation, saying, “I am looking forward to my visit since we’ve been to Colombo to see matches in Sri Lanka.” In response to questions asked about why the Indian team did not tour Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023 and the potential for future tours, Rajeev Shukla stated, ” We will go by the advice of the government, whatever the government decides we will do that.”
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