ISLAMABAD - Former captain Javed Miandad Tuesday advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to invite the Indian players to the inaugural Super League (PSL) so as to show the world this country had avoided retaliating against India for keeping Pakistani players out of the IPL.
The PSL, a franchise-based Twenty-20 Tournament, is scheduled to be staged in Doha early next year. Miandad advised the PCB to make best-possible preparation and planning for the PSL because the country's prestige would be at stake. "Nothing should go off beam".
"The PCB should categorize the players according to their standards," he said, adding any international player who desires to participate in the tournament should be asked to sign a contract first rather than confirming verbally or through any other medium. "It is a matter of our country's reputation and nothing should go wrong. Each interested player should first sign a contract as backing out at the last moment would bring a bad name to the country," he said.
Speaking about the PSL logo unveiling ceremony, Miandad said PCB should have invited business tycoons in the ceremony as advertisement was the need of the hour for the PSL. "The PCB should have also called in different bank presidents and multinationals who are interested in the event," he said.
Miandad said one of these people might have bought some teams of the PSL and this way the number of teams would have increased and the tournament would have acquired a bigger profile.
Miandad also suggested the PSL might have been organised in Pakistan with special arrangements to stay the overseas players at Dubai etc. and fly them to Pakistan on the day of the match.
Commenting about Pakistan's upcoming series against Zimbabwe, Miandad said it won't be easy for Pakistan to beat Zimbabwe at their home ground. "Zimbabwean team is getting better day by day and we should not take them lightly," he said.
Talking about the Pak-India series, Miandad said: “First of all, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president late Jagmohan Dalmiya. "He was a true gentleman and had respect for Pakistani cricketers," he said adding a big void would be left in cricket after his death.
Returning to Pakistan-India series, Miandad said: "Don't entertain much expectation. As far as the series is concerned, everyone knows who dumped who," he said.