'We need to create a cricketing bond, politics should stay away from sport as much as possible'

The newly appointed chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Ramiz Raja said that a lot of hard work needs to be done to get forward India's cricketing ties with Pakistan in the future.

In the last nine years, the South Asian arch-rivals did not play any bilateral series but had only taken part in their matches during ICC and ACC tournaments.

However, Raja, who's also a former Pakistan cricketer, sounded optimistic about their future relations. The veteran met BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and honorary secretary Jay Shah during the ACC meeting in Dubai.

The ACC was set-up to create a unified approach, says Ramiz Raja

"A lot of work needs to be done to revitalise Pakistan-India cricket but there needs to be some comfortable level between the two boards and then we can see how far we can go. So overall, we had a good discussion," Raja told on PCB's official website.

"I met with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the ACC meetings. We need to create a cricketing bond, while I have also believed that politics should stay away from sport as much as possible and this has always been our stance," he stated.

"The ACC was set-up to create a unified approach so that we had one voice and if there was a situation, all stood together. I would like to see our relationship with other boards and the ACC to be strong so that if there is an issue, like we had with the withdrawal of a couple of sides, a strong and joint statement could come out from the ACC platform," Raja added.

Raja also said that Pakistan will host the 2023 Asia Cup in the 50-overs format. But he also admitted that chances of India travelling to Pakistan is negligible due to the political tensions between the two nations. In that scenario, the tournament may be shifted to the UAE.

India and Pakistan are next scheduled to lock horns in the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday, October 24 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.