Sharad Pawar took over the role of the ICC President on the 1st of July at Singapore. Pawar had been the President in waiting for a period of two years, which had seen David Morgan of UK being the President of the ICC. However, the initiation of Pawar to the role was not without controversies as there was a war brewing between the Afro-Asian and the Australia-New Zealand block which had the controversial topic of John Howard’s rejection as the core area of discussion.
On the very first day of becoming the President of the ICC, Pawar said that the ICC will try to ensure that India and Pakistan bilateral ties improve to the extent that the two sides would be able to play international cricket in the near future. He also added that the governments will need to give a go-ahead for the same.
Pawar, who is known for his diplomacy in politics, said that the visits by the Home Minister and Foreign secretary to Pakistan is a sign in the right direction and should be welcomed. He added, “If India and Pakistan start playing and it influences the bilateral relations of the two countries and also if both the governments permit, we will be happy to encourage,”
Pawar also added that playing international cricket between the two nations will ensure that the ties between India and Pakistan will improve over the period of time.
Pawar also added that the ICC also wanted the two countries to play on but it was not the apex body’s fault that the two countries had decided not to go ahead with it. He said, “It was because of some unforeseen circumstances that both the countries had decided to stop it.”
Unfortunately, Malcolm Speed, the former Australian chief and the chief of the ICC as well, had criticised the rejection of Howard by comparing him with Pawar and saying that he did not know anything about the cricket. Speed also said that given that Pawar was an agricultural minister, he was only going to dedicate his time to cricket on a part-time basis.
