Eight worldwide groups together with hosts Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies will characteristic within the inaugural version of the Over-40 World Cup in Karachi from September 18 to October 2. It is going to be one of many greatest worldwide cricket occasions to happen on Pakistani soil lately and the credit score goes to Pakistan Veterans Cricket Affiliation (PVCA). It was PVCA that managed to swim in opposition to the tide and managed to make it possible for the occasion takes place in a profitable method. In an interview with The Information on Sunday, PVCA Chairman Fawad Ijaz Khan spoke on a wide range of points together with the World Cup and the rise and rise of veterans cricket each in Pakistan and internationally. Following are the excerpts of the interview.
TNS: How and when did you resolve to host the Over-40s World Cup?
FIK: It had been in my thoughts for fairly a while and I first shared this concept with Haroon Lorgat the then Chief Govt Officer (CEO) of the Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) throughout my assembly with him on the ICC Headquarters in Dubai in 2008. It was the time when solely the Indian Board of Veterans was the one energetic physique, aside from ours, in the whole cricketing world.
In search of facilitation and help from the world’s governing physique for arranging groups from member nations for my proposed Over-40 event, I used to be communicated that the veterans’ cricket was out of their purview. In actual fact, the ICC supremo had knowledgeable me that senior gamers within the majority of their member nations didn’t get pleasure from cordial relations with their respective boards.
Though he was appreciative of this novel concept all he might commit on behalf of the ICC was to ship umpires for the event which clearly was not going to be sufficient. I used to be left with no different possibility than to attend for some time till there was a change of coronary heart. The seeds, nonetheless, had been sown, and I had the intestine feeling that my dream of launching an Over-40 event on the worldwide degree will likely be fulfilled in the end.
As anticipated, veterans’ cricket gained momentum in numerous nations over time and the actions had been regulated with the formation of controlling our bodies. Issues saved shifting in the appropriate route because the Over-50 World Cup made its debut in 2018 adopted by the launch of the Over-60 World Cup in 2022. Now the Over-40 World Cup is on the horizon.
TNS: Please give us particulars of the event. Which groups are collaborating and can there be any worldwide stars representing these groups?
FIK: The inaugural MCW Over-40s World Cup will likely be performed in Karachi from September 18 to October 2. A complete of eight nations will likely be collaborating in it and each workforce will likely be taking part in seven matches within the league rounds on the finish of which the highest 4 groups will qualify for the semifinals. Apart from hosts Pakistan, there will likely be groups from Australia, West Indies, USA, Canada, UAE, Nepal and Hong Kong.
A complete of 36 matches are scheduled to be performed throughout the event. Nationwide Financial institution Enviornment (previously Nationwide Stadium), NBP Sports activities Complicated, Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Floor, DHA Moin Khan Academy and DHA Southend Membership Cricket Stadium would be the venues. The day matches will likely be performed from 10 am to 4.45 pm whereas 5 day/night time matches will likely be contested from 2:30 pm to 9:15 pm.
TNS: How robust is it to host a world of such magnitude throughout tough instances particularly financial system clever?
FIK: Internet hosting the event in Pakistan was all the time to be a tricky process for apparent causes. Convincing the worldwide groups to return down right here was not simple. We needed to supply them incentives with the intention to rope them for our occasion. That they had safety considerations however we’re grateful to the Authorities of Sindh particularly for offering the required assurances which happy the international individuals.
Secondly, we had a slender window for our event as plenty of cricketers had different obligations. The delayed affirmation from a few of the taking part groups allowed us much less time to do the occasion’s advertising and marketing. As we approached the corporates for sponsorship on the eleventh hour, their finances for the yr had already been exhausted attributable to their commitments in Asia Cup and World Cup. The financial meltdown within the nation didn’t assist our trigger both. We, nonetheless, have managed to safe funds to satisfy the prices of the event fortunately.
TNS: Veterans’ cricket has come a good distance. How do you describe the journey?
FIK: We’ve been profitable in making our presence felt each on the nationwide in addition to worldwide degree throughout our 25-year-old journey which has been fairly an eventful one. The veterans’ cricket has propelled expeditiously all through the globe throughout the previous couple of years however the indigenous concept in Pakistan traces its roots manner again to 1997 when Very best Group organised a event in Karachi. The ultimate of the landmark occasion was contested between Very best Group and A O Clinic which subsequently led to the delivery of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Affiliation (PVCA), which was based formally on April 23, 1998.
Prompted by a vacuum to interact senior or veteran cricketers on the cricket discipline, I had floated the concept of forming an Affiliation for this objective, and with the assist of like-minded buddies and patrons, the dream become actuality. I remained the Chief Govt Officer of the PVCA from its inception till 1998 after I was elected as Chairman of the physique.
Since inception, we now have succeeded in making our mark on the home degree by organising the Veterans Cup (Over-50s) and Tremendous Veterans Cup (Over 60s) aside from Nationwide Seniors Cup (Over 40s) frequently. Inter-College cricket tournaments are one other outstanding initiative of the PVCA which have offered an distinctive platform for kids to showcase their potential.
A number of stars like former Pakistan Check captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, the world-class wicketkeeper-batsman who lifted the Champions Trophy for Pakistan in 2017, and Saim Ayub, the flamboyant left-handed opener already having earned Pakistan cap, are proud merchandise of those tournaments.
TNS: When did you break into the worldwide area?
FIK: The primary ever veteran’s conflict in an official capability befell between India and Pakistan (Over-35) in 2005 when the Pakistan Veterans workforce visited India to play a four-match collection which was organised by the Board for Veterans Cricket in India (BVCI).
The primary encounter befell at Sirsa Haryana on December 26 the place an enormous turnout of round 15,000 spectators watched the match which was telecast stay. The Indian Seniors then toured Pakistan in 2006 and Pakistan undertook one other tour of India once more 2007. All these three collection, unfold over 12 matches, had been beamed stay and it featured the participation of outstanding former Check gamers from each nations which attracted huge crowds.
Following the groundbreaking Veterans collection between the 2 of the best cricket nations, Pakistan and India, the PVCA had remained in contact with P R Maan Singh and afterward with Chetan Chauhan who headed the BVCI after its formation.
Muhammad Azharuddin, the world file holder for scoring a century in every of his first three Checks, captained the Indian workforce in all these three collection whereas Abdul Qadir, the leg-spinning wizard, captained the Pakistani aspect two instances and Rashid Latif, the ace wicketkeeper-batsman, led the aspect in a single collection. Pakistan Veterans managed to win two out of those three collection.
Pakistan Veterans groups have made profitable bilateral excursions to England in 2009, 2014, 2017 and 2019, endeavor two excursions to South Africa in 2015 and 2017 whereas travelling to Sri Lanka in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
The PVCA, apart from its distinctive administration expertise, has been merely scintillating in making certain and depicting top-notch on-ground performances. The Pakistani groups have been efficiently dominating the present and are a power to reckon with at numerous age ranges.
The Pakistan Over-50 workforce remained the runners-up within the inaugural Over 50s World Cup held in Sydney in 2018 and it has the best profitable share throughout the cricketing globe. The Pakistan Over-60, below my captaincy, was topped because the worthy champions of the Over 60s cricket World Cup held in Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Australia in 2022.
The Pakistan Over-50 workforce additionally participated within the Over-50 World Cup which was staged at Cape City, South Africa, in March 2023. As many as 14 nations took half on this occasion however Pakistan narrowly missed qualification within the final 4. Pakistan, nonetheless, earned the excellence of getting overpowered England, the eventual champions, within the league encounter.
TNS: Are nationwide cricket authorities supportive of veterans’ cri-cket?
FIK: Neither the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) nor any governmental organisation lend us monetary assist. The PVCA, registered with the Securities Trade Fee of Pakistan (SECP), is ruled on a self-help foundation by a board of 20 administrators who’re elected for a time period of three years.
TNS: Do you anticipate followers to show up for matches to assist the Pakistan workforce which options former stars like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq within the upcoming Over-40s World Cup?
FIK: Everyone knows that the spectators, of late, haven’t been turning up in very massive numbers to look at the nationwide workforce even in One-day Internationals. Subsequently, we don’t anticipate capability crowds to look at the motion however actually we’re hopeful of considerable turnouts within the matches at Nationwide Stadium.
Now T20 are recognized for attracting the lots. We had been keen to arrange this Over-40s World Cup within the T20 format however different groups didn’t agree. We, nonetheless, are planning a world T20 event subsequent yr through which the opposite main groups like England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka will even be persuaded to take part.
TNS: How do you foresee the way forward for veterans’ cricket in Pakistan and internationally?
FIK: Belief me that veterans’ cricket is spreading like wildfire globally. Some folks could also be stunned however the reality stays that it has develop into the most well-liked model of cricket internationally. As many as 25 nations are into it very significantly now. Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Eire, Wales and Kuwait are among the many nations the place veterans cricket has received a agency foothold and so they sit up for becoming a member of the elite checklist of 14 nations who’ve settled infrastructure already. So, veterans’ cricket is right here to remain and flourish, each in Pakistan in addition to internationally.
TNS: As chairman PVCA what do you suppose are the standout milestones achieved by the affiliation over time?
FIK: Internet hosting the collection in opposition to India in 2006, which was a roaring success, was deemed as our single greatest achievement till we received the inaugural Over-60s World Cup in opposition to all odds in Australia final yr. We’ve had solely 4 Over-60s outfits in Karachi and none elsewhere within the nation.
We managed to overpower hosts Australia within the semifinals and earlier than taming their neighbours New Zealand within the closing. Each these nations, having numerous Over-60s groups, loved higher expertise of it however we shocked them with our sterling efficiency to elevate the trophy.
Khalid Hussain is Editor Sports activities of The Information Worldwide