PCB, BCCI keen on Indo-Pak charity match

Lahore: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ijaz Butt claimed on Tuesday that its Indian counterpart (BCCI) has agreed on an Indo-Pak charity match in the near future to raise funds for country's flood victims.
"I had a very good meeting with BCCI president, N Srinivasan, and we discussed the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties and also the possibility of having a charity match for the flood victims," Butt told reporters on his return from Dubai.

The PCB chairman, who was in Dubai to attend ICC Executive Board meeting, added, "During our discussions, the BCCI president was receptive to having a match to raise funds for the flood victims in Pakistan. He said the Board of Control for Cricket in India would cooperate in this regard with the PCB."
He also revealed that the two Boards discussed the existing cricketing ties, and added that things needed to be worked out for the resumption of bilateral series.
Interestingly, a senior official of the BCCI, Rajeev Shukla, had said in an interview in Mumbai on Tuesday that because of the hectic international calendar it was very difficult to find a slot to have matches with Pakistan, other than the series scheduled in the future tour programme.
Pakistan are due to tour India next year in March-April as part of the FTP to play three Tests and five ODIs, apart from a Twenty20 International.
However, the PCB has indicated that it is trying to convince India to allow Pakistan to host some matches of the series in Pakistan or at neutral venues as some compensation for the Indian team's canceled tour to Pakistan in early 2009 after the Mumbai terror attacks.
Butt also confirmed that it was decided at the ICC meeting that the next president of the ICC would come from either Pakistan or Bangladesh.
"Both countries will have a consensus candidate for the ICC president," he said.