The last time India and Pakistan played a two-sided series was in 2012. Their gatherings have been restricted to ICC competitions in the following nine years.Speaking to PCB's true site, Ramiz Raja affirmed that he had a decent conversation with BCCI's top specialists, Sourav Ganguly and Jay Shah, uninvolved of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting. Nonetheless, he felt that a solace level needed to shape before the cricketing relationship was renewed.
-A lot of work needs to be done to revitalize 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.-
-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,- Ramiz Raja said.
Ramiz Raja confirmed that the Asia Cup, scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in 2023, will be a 50-over competition. He has immense hope of hosting a well-organized tournament which will be vital for Pakistan-s chances of becoming a venue for international cricket in the future.
-The ACC has agreed and approved that the 2023 event in Pakistan will be a 50-over competition and will be held in September. This aligns very nicely with the ICC Men-s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in October and November (in India). We are looking forward to hosting this tournament in Pakistan and I am confident it will be a well-organized event because this is what the fans want.-
Though Pakistan has been selected as the host nation, it remains to be seen if the tournament will actually be played there. This is primarily because the chances of India traveling there remain bleak.
Ramiz Raja reiterated the need for a body like ACC to transform into a stronger self with more cooperation among the member boards. He believes the ACC should be able to wield a stronger arm in cases of its members facing a setback, just like what happened Pakistan faced recently with New Zealand and England withdrawing unilaterally from their tours.