Rajeev Shukla on his visit to Pakistan: This is a purely cricketing invitation, it should not be mixed with politics

For the first time in 17 years, two senior BCCI officials, Chairman Roger Binny and Vice Chairman Rajeev Shukla, traveled to Pakistan, arriving in Lahore on Monday after crossing the Attari-Wagah border, honoring the PCB’s invitation to view the Asian Cup there. .

The last time an Indian cricket team traveled to Pakistan was in 2008 for the Asian Cup. Pakistan last hosted India in a bilateral series in 2006.

The BCCI had refused to send its team to Pakistan for the Asian Cup, leading to a “hybrid model” bi-national deal. But in an encouraging gesture, the BCCI approved Binny and Shukla’s participation in a dinner hosted by the governor of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

“Pakistan is the host of the Asia Cup. This delegation’s visit is purely for cricket and there is no politics involved. It is a two day visit and the Governor of Punjab will invite us for dinner and the three teams from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan will be present. We should not mix cricket with politics,” Shukla told reporters.

Shukla, who has been on the Indian cricket board for more than two decades, was part of the BCCI delegation that attended the historic ‘Friendship Series’ in 2004.

Asked about the chances of resuming bilateral cricket competitions, the Rajya Sabha MP said, “The decision regarding the bilateral series is taken by the Indian government and we will follow any suggestion from the government.” Binny recalled his last visit to Pakistan, which by the way was over 16 years ago, when he was a member of the Asian Cricket Council.

“My last visit to Pakistan was in 2006 when I was part of the Asian Cricket Council. Pakistani hospitality has been very, very good and they treated us very well,” said Binny.