On the plus side, Pakistan won their first ever ICC T20 World Cup in 2009, reached the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and Misbah-ul-Haq was appointed as the team's Captain in tests, and later on in all formats. This is what happened when Basir spoke to the former chairman:
KheloPakistan.com (KP): What are your views on the return of International Cricket in Pakistan?
Ijaz Butt (IB): Well, I don’t see it happening this year, given the current security conditions, what Pakistan has gone through in the past and is going through right now, the chances for international teams to visit Pakistan seem almost obsolete.
KP: Do you think teams like Bangladesh could visit Pakistan in the near future?
IB: No, all of us have seen the attitude of Bangladesh Cricket Board towards their visit to Pakistan. We shouldn’t expect them to tour Pakistan in the near future.
KP: Pakistan Super League has recently been announced by the PCB, do you see it reaping out any positives for the nation’s cricketing setup?
IB: Yes, PSL is a really good initiative by the PCB to organize our very own cricket league after the huge success of other international T20 leagues like IPL, SLPL, BPL etc.
KP: In your views, what steps should be taken to make PSL a successful event?
IB: I think that PSL will be a huge success only if the foreign players agree to participate in it, however, keeping in view the present conditions, the participation of Bangladeshi players seems difficult in my opinion.
KP: Do you think the the Sri Lankan players will participate in it?
IB: No, since their team was attacked in Lahore, I don’t think they’ll fancy a visit to Pakistan so soon.
KP: Moving on to other issues, the Pakistani team is all set to face South Africa in their own backyard and the squad has been announced for the tour. What are your thoughts on the squad’s selection? Do you think it was a good move to select Sarfraz Ahmad in place of Adnan Akmal?
IB: The selection has been quite interesting, dropping Adnan was certainly a good decision but replacing him with Sarfaraz was a shocker. He has had his chances and his performance hasn’t been very encouraging. In my personal opinion, there are much better wicket-keeper batsmen than him on our domestic circuit who are more suitable and deserving than him for the spot.
WCN: What are your views on the South Africa tour?
WCN: Finally, would you like to give a message to our readers?
IB: My message to the readers would be to keep supporting Pakistan Cricket Team. The upcoming tour to South Africa is going to be very tough. If we can beat the number one team in their backyard, then we can definitely beat any team anywhere.
Ijaz Butt (IB): Well, I don’t see it happening this year, given the current security conditions, what Pakistan has gone through in the past and is going through right now, the chances for international teams to visit Pakistan seem almost obsolete.
KP: Do you think teams like Bangladesh could visit Pakistan in the near future?
IB: No, all of us have seen the attitude of Bangladesh Cricket Board towards their visit to Pakistan. We shouldn’t expect them to tour Pakistan in the near future.
KP: Pakistan Super League has recently been announced by the PCB, do you see it reaping out any positives for the nation’s cricketing setup?
IB: Yes, PSL is a really good initiative by the PCB to organize our very own cricket league after the huge success of other international T20 leagues like IPL, SLPL, BPL etc.
KP: In your views, what steps should be taken to make PSL a successful event?
IB: I think that PSL will be a huge success only if the foreign players agree to participate in it, however, keeping in view the present conditions, the participation of Bangladeshi players seems difficult in my opinion.
KP: Do you think the the Sri Lankan players will participate in it?
IB: No, since their team was attacked in Lahore, I don’t think they’ll fancy a visit to Pakistan so soon.
KP: Moving on to other issues, the Pakistani team is all set to face South Africa in their own backyard and the squad has been announced for the tour. What are your thoughts on the squad’s selection? Do you think it was a good move to select Sarfraz Ahmad in place of Adnan Akmal?
IB: The selection has been quite interesting, dropping Adnan was certainly a good decision but replacing him with Sarfaraz was a shocker. He has had his chances and his performance hasn’t been very encouraging. In my personal opinion, there are much better wicket-keeper batsmen than him on our domestic circuit who are more suitable and deserving than him for the spot.
WCN: What are your views on the South Africa tour?
IB:
The tour to South Africa will surely be a really tough one for both
teams. A very close contest should be expected between the two teams. It
will be a real test, especially for the youngsters.
WCN: Now
a question which most of the boundary-loving Pakistani fans would like
to ask you, do you think that Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi will be
able to make a come-back or is it time to move on?
IB: Well, every player has a certain age in which he performs at his peak. After that peak age, the reflexes start slowing down and this is the exactly what has happened with Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. In their peak time, Afridi and Abdul Razzaq were without a doubt some of the best match-winning players in the team. But instead of waiting for them to find their form and make a come-back and relying on them, it would be better to focus on and support the fresh talent like Junaid Khan and Muhammad Irfan. The way they performed against India was very impressive. Apart from these two, there are a lot of other guys too who are immensely talented and are waiting for their chances.
IB: Well, every player has a certain age in which he performs at his peak. After that peak age, the reflexes start slowing down and this is the exactly what has happened with Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. In their peak time, Afridi and Abdul Razzaq were without a doubt some of the best match-winning players in the team. But instead of waiting for them to find their form and make a come-back and relying on them, it would be better to focus on and support the fresh talent like Junaid Khan and Muhammad Irfan. The way they performed against India was very impressive. Apart from these two, there are a lot of other guys too who are immensely talented and are waiting for their chances.
WCN: Finally, would you like to give a message to our readers?
IB: My message to the readers would be to keep supporting Pakistan Cricket Team. The upcoming tour to South Africa is going to be very tough. If we can beat the number one team in their backyard, then we can definitely beat any team anywhere.
WCN: Thank you for your time.
IB: My Pleasure!
IB: My Pleasure!
