Pakistan to visit India next year

The tour is likely to take place in March-April and include three Tests and five one-dayers.

Dalmiya, who has taken over as Asian Cricket Council president, told newspersons that following the resumption of the Indo-Pak bilateral ties, the ACC was now chalking out a detailed programme for the development of the game in the continent.

“For sometime the ACC could not function well because of the non-existence of bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan.

“But now that the ties have resumed, we will draw up a detailed plan for the game’s development in Asia,” he said.

The matter would be discussed at the general body meeting of the ACC, scheduled to be held in Colombo on August 1, Dalmiya said, adding that the ICC was paying a part of the expenses incurred by the Asian body for the programme.

“Spreading the game extensively in Asia is part of the efforts for the globalisation of the game,” he said.

To buttress his point, Dalmiya referred to his experience of seeing a Japanese team in action.

“All the boys in the team were of Japanese origin. And I was pleasantly surprised to watch a Japanese bowler dismiss a batsman with a right arm delivery, and then bowl the very next ball to the new batsman with the left hand,” he said.

“Despite coming from a nation from where we hear much about games like golf and football, and little about cricket, I was impressed by his confidence. Efforts like this, strengthen our belief that this game can be truly globalised,” he added.