Nadeem
03-09-2008, 02:21 PM
Former Pakistan captain and ex-Cricket Board Chief Executive Rameez Raja blamed the Indian Premier League for Australian cricket team's reluctance to tour the country. Rameez said this was the first real example of how much damage the IPL could do to Test and international cricket in the long run.
"I think there is also reluctance on part of some Australian players to avoid touring Pakistan because of the Indian Premier League. It is a situation to which the administrators have to wake up to," Rameez told PTI in an interview.
Australia have been apprehensive of touring Pakistan due to political turmoil and series of bomb blasts in the country since the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
"I know there is a negative perception about Pakistan internationally but it is not all true and cricket matches have never been targeted ever before in the country. Other teams have come and played here and gone home on a high note. The Australians must take that into consideration," he added.
The Indian Cricket Board-backed IPL and other Boards starts from April 18 with several Australian and Pakistani players signed up to play in it.
Rameez, who was chief executive of the Board between 2002 and 2004 and is now a well known television commentator and an expert, felt Pakistan needed to launch a big PR exercise to ensure they did not face a similar situation from other teams in future.
"I think there is also reluctance on part of some Australian players to avoid touring Pakistan because of the Indian Premier League. It is a situation to which the administrators have to wake up to," Rameez told PTI in an interview.
Australia have been apprehensive of touring Pakistan due to political turmoil and series of bomb blasts in the country since the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
"I know there is a negative perception about Pakistan internationally but it is not all true and cricket matches have never been targeted ever before in the country. Other teams have come and played here and gone home on a high note. The Australians must take that into consideration," he added.
The Indian Cricket Board-backed IPL and other Boards starts from April 18 with several Australian and Pakistani players signed up to play in it.
Rameez, who was chief executive of the Board between 2002 and 2004 and is now a well known television commentator and an expert, felt Pakistan needed to launch a big PR exercise to ensure they did not face a similar situation from other teams in future.