Ramiz Raja, chairman of the PCB, has stated that he will approach BCCI president Sourav Ganguly about the potential of India and Pakistan renewing cricketing links. While bilateral connections are unlikely to happen anytime soon, Raja brought up the idea of a four-nation competition, which the former Pakistan batter had proposed a few months back.

Raja’s remarks might be attributed to his conviction that T20 leagues throughout the world are stifling international cricket, particularly bilateral and tri-series competitions. Raja’s suggestion for a four-nation competition drew mixed reactions from cricket boards and their chief executives, but Raja believes that the popularity of India-Pakistan matches is such that efforts must be taken to guarantee spectators get to see the mother of all battles even outside of ICC events.

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“I’ll talk to Ganguly about a four-nation tournament. Cricket’s future lies in triangular and four-nation competitions. Twenty20 leagues are taking away eyeballs from bilateral cricket, which is losing novelty,” Raja stated during a media conference.

“I think it is unfair to keep fans away from India-Pakistan contests. Tickets for the India-Pakistan [2022 T20 World Cup] were sold in one day, we don’t have a political viewpoint, and if a fellow cricketer is leading the BCCI, we should be approachable to one other since we don’t understand politics.”

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Raja’s proposal for a four-nation tournament comprising India, Pakistan, Australia, and England was dismissed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah as a “short-term commercial initiative.” Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley, on the other hand, responded positively. Raja will present the suggestion at the ACC conference in Dubai on March 19, and the outcome will be intriguing to watch.

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“We’ll have to look at the rules, but I believe the four-nation tournament should have its CEO and be staged in a 15-day window every year. The plan is for each participant to host it once a year, with the proceeds split among the cricket boards. Third-party interference is not required,” Raja pointed out.