Pakistan, May 17 — The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, will determine if the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi, is allowed to go to India for upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) gatherings, according to a PCB representative on Saturday, as there have been reports that the international cricket organization has invited Naqvi to participate in meetings in Ahmedabad.
The printed circuit board stated that an invitation had been issued by the ICC. Naqvi also holds the position of interior minister for Pakistan within Sharif’s government.
“The choice of whether the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board will go to Ahmedabad for the ICC meeting or not will be determined by the PCB’s patron-in-chief, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,” the spokesperson said to Arab News.
The International Criminal Court did not promptly reply to an inquiry for a statement.
The invitation arrives amid tense cricket relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, who have not engaged in a bilateral series since 2008. In recent years, games between Pakistan and India have been restricted to multi-nation tournaments held at neutral locations through ICC-organized setups.
The approach of using neutral venues was implemented during the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025, following India’s decision not to go to Pakistan for the tournament. Consequently, India’s games against Pakistan were held at a neutral location through a combined agreement between the ICC and the involved cricket boards, making sure that the teams would not compete on each other’s home ground.
As per media coverage, the ICC’s upcoming series of meetings will start online on May 21, succeeded by face-to-face gatherings in Ahmedabad on May 30 and 31. The topics to be addressed are anticipated to cover the next phase of the World Test Championship along with wider governance and financial issues.
The gatherings are planned at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which had previously been the venue for games in the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, including the championship match.
Reports also indicate that ICC representatives might be present at the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, set to take place on May 31 at the same location, though this has not been officially verified.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Geo TV, referencing sources, stated that the PCB chairman has been invited to participate in both the board meeting and the
IPL final to be held in Ahmedabad later this month.
