Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan is preparing for a visit to India on October 3 and is hopeful of improvement in Pakistan-India cricketing ties.
Shahryar, who has taken up the mantle of PCB chief for the second time in his career, is hoping for a positive outcome from his planned meeting with his Indian counterpart N Srinivasan.
The two chairmen are expected to discuss the participation of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The PCB chief believes the Lahore Lions' successful participation in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 will open the Indian Premier League doors for the country's players.
Khan said he was satisfied with the performance of the Lahore Lions team.
"But apart from performances the Lahore Lions team has played a big role in highlighting Pakistan cricket in India in the last two weeks," Khan said on Geo Super channel.
He pointed out that the Lahore team had left a positive image of Pakistan cricket among the Indians.
"Until now the absence of our players from the IPL is very disappointing but we are trying our best to improve bilateral cricket ties with India," he said.
Khan said Pakistan was keen to restore and have normal relations with the Indian board.
"We are willing to host the Indians at any neutral venue selected with mutual cooperation of both boards. But we want the restoration of bilateral cricket series as soon as possible," he said.
The PCB chief said while Pakistan had struggled to launch its own T20 franchised league but it was unfair to compare it with the IPL.
Shahryar also added that Indo-Pak cricketing relations are important and they would get better over a period of time.
However, the PCB chairman realises that change will be slow as he said that it would not change overnight but positive results would emerge with time.
With WC only a few months away, Waqar critical of ICC's timing against chucking
Pakistan's cricket team head coach Waqar Younis has questioned the timing of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) crackdown against chucking just months away from the World Cup and has suggested that rules on bowling actions could be relaxed for spinners.
The former pace great said that key all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez's confidence was left shattered after he was reported for a suspect action in India's domestic tournament, the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20), a fresh blow to Pakistan following the loss of ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to a chucking ban.
Ajmal, the world's leading One-day bowler, faces a race against time to get his bowling action corrected by the World Cup, to be held from February to March in Australia and New Zealand, after being suspended earlier this month, The Dawn reported.
Ajmal was found to straighten his elbow up to 43 degrees, well beyond the 15-degree limit prescribed under the rules, the point where a kink becomes noticeable to the naked eye.
Since then, Hafeez and Sunil Narine have been among four players reported during CLT20 . Though the action has no direct bearing on international cricket, Younis said that the bowlers would now be under intense scrutiny.
Younis questioned if it is the right time to enforce the protocols and the technology, adding that he is asking this because everyone plans ahead of the World Cup, and the suspensions would badly hit the teams whose bowlers have been suspended or questioned.
Younis said that he means the protocols and the technology should have been enforced after the World Cup.
Bracewell returns to New Zealand Test team for Pakistan series
All-rounder Doug Bracewell has earned a recall to the New Zealand Test squad for their series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates after being dumped from the team for disciplinary issues earlier this year.
The 24-year-old Bracewell, who last played against Bangladesh last year, was dropped after he and batsman Jesse Ryder breached team protocols by going out drinking the evening before a Test in Auckland.
Bracewell was part of the New Zealand 'A' team that toured England in August and coach Mike Hesson said his performances on that tour had convinced him to give the burly all-rounder another opportunity.
Opening batsman Peter Fulton was dropped from the squad that secured a 2-1 series victory over West Indies in June, with Hamish Rutherford and Tom Latham the likely opening combination.
Vettori, who has not featured for New Zealand since a One-day International in June last year and been restricted to mostly Twenty20 cricket in 2014, was the stand out name in the extended squad, which the final 15-man World Cup team is likely to be drawn from.
New Zealand face Scotland on October 15 in Christchurch and then play Ireland three days later on October 18 in Hamilton.
Hesson will then select his squad for three One-day Internationals against South Africa on October 21, October 24 and October 27 after the Ireland game.
The team will then travel to the UAE for their series that includes three tests, five One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan, with the first Test starting on November 9.
The series concludes on December 19 with the fifth One-day International.
New Zealand Test team: Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Mark Craig, Tom Latham, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson.
New Zealand XI: Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Dean Brownlie, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling, Kane Williamson
