Summary of this article
PCB chief, Mohsin Naqvi, met with BCB officials, including the interim chief, in a two-day visit to Dhaka
PCB-BCB has discussions on forming an alliance to counter ICC's two-tier system plan in Test Championships
They also decided to convince other boards to join them in forming an internal bloc within ICC against the Big Three's dominance in revenue share
In an effort to shake up the current cricketing world order, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), led by Mohsin Naqvi, has joined hands with their Bangladeshi counterpart to back each other at the Asian and International level on their demand for greater balance in the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for the 2028-31 cycle.
A PTI source closed to Mohsin Naqvi confirmed it after the PCB Chief returned from his two-day visit to Dhaka, where he reportedly got the assurances for the same by BCB officials, including their interim 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
According to the source, the main points of discussion of the meeting were:
i) To outrightly reject any move to create a two-tier system among international teams in the World Test Championships.
ii) To push for more balance between teams in the next edition of the Test Championship and even more even distribution of shares from ICC events among nations.
“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 further revealed that the discussion also touched upon bringing other boards with them to form a stronger bloc within the International Cricket Council and enhance cooperation at the Asian level.
Both the heads will personally speak to other boards and convince them to support them in their initiative.
“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 rejected the viewpoint that the new Bangladesh government is tilting towards India in terms of cricketing affairs.
“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.
