Ehsan Mani in a file image.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani has said that the politicians should stay away from the cricketing matters of India and Pakistan as they use the game as a tool of politics.
Mani further stated that irrespective of the bilateral relationship between India and Pakistan, the dialogue between the two cricket boards should continue.
"We should not meddle in what politicians say. I strongly believe that there should be no intervention of politics and politicians in cricket," Mani said in a press conference.
"The dialogue between the two cricket boards should continue for the betterment of cricket," he added.
Mani, meanwhile, also reflected on Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's statement in which he had expressed his discontent over the cancellation of the proposed foreign minister-level talks between the two countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The PCB chairman stated that it was India who first issued a statement blaming Khan for killings in Kashmir and that the latter's remark was just a reaction to the same.
"Don't see Imran Khan's statement in isolation. Statement from India came before that in which they blamed Imran Khan for the killings in Kashmir and said that it's his true face. Imran Khan's statement was a reaction to that," he said
Expressing hope of improved relations between the cricket governing bodies of the two countries, Mani asserted that ultimately, it is the game which is bigger than any politician or person.
"At end of the day, cricket is bigger than any one person and politicians. When India and Pakistan play, over 100 billion people watch the game from across the world. No one cares about politics at that stage. We are very hopeful that boards will get together," he said.
"We all understand that whatever happened in the past has happened, we have to look forward," he concluded.
