ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketing sensation who steered his side to the 1992 World Cup victory, on Monday said money was now the “big player” in international cricket and arch-rival India “controls” the game by virtue of having the richest cricket board in the world.
Khan’s comments came during an interview with the Middle East Eye, in which he was asked about his reaction to the 11th-hour cancelation of Pakistan tours by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
He said one of the reasons for the tour’s cancelation was “money is big player now for the players as well as for the cricket boards.”
Late last month, the ECB withdrew its men and women teams from traveling to Pakistan, just days after New Zealand Cricket said it was abandoning its series in the country following a “security alert” by its government.
“Indian cricket board is the richest cricket board in the world. Money lies in India, so basically India controls world cricket,” PM Khan told the Middle East Eye.
He said whatever the Indian cricket board said, others followed because “India can produce much more money.”
India and Pakistan are rivals in both cricket and politics.
The Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) or others did not respond to the comments by the Pakistani premier.
“New Zealand let themselves down, just canceling tour from stadium on something we know was fake news, which was initiated by some Indian through Singapore,” Khan said.
“We know that they got worried and left, and then England, without even consulting anyone, they left.”
The PM was referring to reports that NZ players received threatening emails that Pakistan has said originated in India.
Pakistan, which has been struggling to revive international cricket on home grounds, was taken aback by the cancelation of the two tours.
International teams stopped visiting the South Asian nation after the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. International matches partially resumed in the country when Zimbabwe toured it in May 2015, followed by the West Indies and Sri Lankan cricket teams.
PM Khan said he was expecting a “bit more from England.”
“Of course, the biggest worry of protection of foreign teams is for us, imagine if something happens in Pakistan [to foreign teams], we are responsible,” he said.
“We have one of the best intelligence agencies in the world and I checked thoroughly we had completely secured everything [for cricket tours].”
The ECB decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour was met with widespread anger and disappointment by Pakistani officials and cricket fans.
Pakistani PM says money ‘big player’, India ‘controls’ international cricket
https://arab.news/zea2s
Pakistani PM says money ‘big player’, India ‘controls’ international cricket
- His comments come weeks after England and New Zealand abandoned their Pakistan tours
- Pakistani officials later said threatening email sent to New Zealand team originated in India
Pakistani PM seeks faster reform implementation in talks with World Bank chief
- 10-year World Bank framework announced last year will focus $20 billion in lending to Pakistan over the coming decade on development issues
- Ajay Banga is on his first official visit to Pakistan as head of World Bank Group and as Islamabad works to advance multi-year reform agenda
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga agreed on Monday on the need to accelerate implementation and strengthen oversight of development priorities, as Islamabad seeks to deliver reforms “at speed and scale” under the World Bank’s Country Partnership Framework (CPF), Sharif’s office said.
Banga is on his first official visit to Pakistan as head of the World Bank Group and as the country works to advance a multi-year reform agenda supported by international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif welcomed Banga and acknowledged the World Bank Group’s long-standing partnership with Pakistan, particularly its support through the 10-year CPF announced last year. The one-of-a-kind plan will focus $20 billion in lending to the cash-strapped nation over the coming decade on development issues like the impact of climate change as well as boosting private-sector growth.
The prime minister said Pakistan was pursuing a comprehensive, domestically driven reform program aimed at achieving sustainable economic stability, the statement said, adding that the government was working across multiple sectors, including energy, agribusiness, digital development, fiscal reforms and job creation.
“Prime Minister and Mr.Banga reiterated the need to fast-track implementation and ensure strong oversight to deliver impact at speed and scale on CPF-aligned priorities,” a statement from Sharif’s office said.
“These measures would duly assist Prime Minister’s initiative to address and resolve Implementation bottlenecks in development projects.”
Sharif also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to structural reforms aimed at unlocking job-rich growth and strengthening investor confidence, according to the statement.
According to the statement, Banga welcomed Pakistan’s ongoing reform efforts and reaffirmed the World Bank Group’s commitment to deepening cooperation through what he described as a “One World Bank Group” approach, the statement said.
“Greater leverage of private resources, in addition to strong coordination with development partners, is necessary to meet the ambition of the government’s reform agenda,” the statement quoted Banga as saying.
Pakistan has relied heavily on multilateral financing and development support in recent years as it navigates balance-of-payments pressures, high inflation and the need for deep-seated structural reforms to boost growth and resilience.
The South Asian nation is currently under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout program, which requires the country to boost government revenues and shore up external sources of financing, much of which comes from loans from China and Gulf nations.
Announcing the CPF last January, Sharif said in a post on social media platform X that the new plan would focus the global institution’s pledge of $20 billion in areas including clean energy and climate resilience in the ten years from 2026.
The World Bank said in a statement at the time that policy and institutional reforms to boost private sector growth and expand fiscal space for government investment in crucial areas would also be key to the CPF.
“We are focused on prioritising investment and advisory interventions that will help crowd-in much needed private investment in sectors critical for Pakistan’s sustainable growth and job creation, including energy and water, agriculture, access to finance, manufacturing and digital infrastructure,” said Zeeshan Sheikh, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation Country Manager for Pakistan and Afghanistan in a statement.
The World Bank has currently committed about $17 billion to Pakistan for 106 projects.
