Pakistan cricket chief Shaharyar M. Khan wants his team to play fewer matches against India because he fears interest in one of cricket's greatest spectacles is being diluted.
Since Pakistan hosted India for the first time in 14 years in March 2004, the teams have playe each other on 21 occasions.
With another full India tour to Pakistan next month and then the Asia Cup, there is a danger of overkill.
"We are playing too much against India," Shaharyar said.
"Last year we played India 12 times so the sparkle has gone out of the series but one has to contend with the requests of fellow boards. We are killing the goose that laid the golden egg."
Shaharyar has expressed his concerns to Jagmohan Dalmiya, former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and still an influential figure.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) neared bankruptcy in the years when countries were reluctant to tour Pakistan after the September 11 attacks on the United States but has since generated about $22 million through television rights and sponsorship. The five one-day matches raised $1.5 million in ticket sales alone.
Shaharyar revealed that several offers to pitch the two arch-rivals together had been rejected, even though large sums of money are involved.
"We keep getting requests to play India at all sorts of venues, like Toronto and Houston and they say half the money will go to some players association or charity," Shaharyar said.
"Quite frankly we are reluctant to play these matches because we have been playing India too much and it will take the charm away from the India-Pakistan rivalry if we go on playing each other 15 times a year.
"I kept trying to persuade Jaggu (Dalmiya) that we should not schedule so many matches but he is a man who likes to have the matches on and keep the pennies rolling in, but we do have a very good relationship with the Indian board."
The coming series, when India are set to play three Tests and five one-day internationals, will even things up in terms of visits stretching back to Pakistan's tour of India in 1999.
"Although we don't know what's going to happen with the ICC's tour cycle yet - whether it will stay at five years or become six years -I would like to see us play each other every two years like with the Ashes," Shaharyar said.
"That is almost certainly what will happen. We need to treat our series in the same way as England and Australia treat theirs. If we do that there will then be no danger of overkill and it will maintain the fervour that we associate with these matches."
Comments
Comments are closed.