Karachi, May 10: The Pakistan Cricket Board and Bangladesh Cricket Board have agreed to back each other at Asian and international cricket forums while seeking greater balance in the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the 2028-31 cycle.
A well-informed source close to the PCB said chairman Mohsin Naqvi returned from a two-day visit to Dhaka with positive assurances after discussions with Bangladesh officials, including interim cricket head Tamim Iqbal.
“During his visit to Dhaka he met with the Bangladesh sports and some other ministers and also was accompanied by Tamim Iqbal the interim head of Bangladesh cricket,” the source said.
He said that Naqvi had discusssed in detail in meetings that there was a need to first reject any move to create a two-tier system in the World Test Championship and secondly to have more balance in the next edition of the championship and also in distribution of shares from ICC events in the new financial cycle after 2027.
“Both boards agreed that at present India, Australia and England get the lions share of matches in the WTC with countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies etc not getting due importance in the schedule,” the source added.
The source said the discussions also focused on bringing other cricket boards together to form a stronger bloc within the International Cricket Council and enhance cooperation at the Asian level.
“Naqvi and Tamim both agreed to speak with other boards and convince them to support them at the ICC level but it was decided that Pakistan and Bangladesh would be supporting each other in every issue at the Asian or ICC levels,” he stated.
The source also dismissed speculation that Bangladesh’s new government was moving closer towards India in cricketing matters.
“Bangladesh obviously has to look after its own interests but in the discussions it was agreed that the understanding and support for each other both boards had shown in the World T20 Cup issue should continue at every level,” he said.
The developments are likely to add a new dimension to cricket politics in Asia and within the ICC, especially at a time when debates surrounding the structure of the World Test Championship, revenue sharing and scheduling imbalance continue to intensify. (PTI)
