Having cricket series helped reduced tensions between the two nations: Saeed Ajmal

Pakistan’s cricketers Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal have called for peaceful relations and resumption of bilateral cricket between arch-rivals India and Pakistan. Both the cricketers feels that resumption of cricketing ties will help reduce tensions and normalize relations between the two countries.

“In the past also having cricket series helped reduced tensions and I firmly believe there should be cricket between the two countries,” Ajmal told reporters in Muzaffarabad, Kashmir. The off-spinner said whenever he played in India he had got love and appreciation from the Indian people.

Afridi took to Twitter to push for a peaceful resolution of the recent hostilities between Pakistan and India.

Afridi said Pakistan had always been a “peaceful nation” and that when two neighbors fought it “affected both.” Afridi and Ajmal, face the axe when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announces the central contracts for 2016-17. According to a well-informed source in the board, the names of Afridi and Ajmal have not been included in the preliminary list of players who will be given the 12-month central contracts next month.

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Meanwhile, BCCI President Anurag Thakur as asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) not to put the India and Pakistan in the same group in future tournaments.

“Keeping in mind that the government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur said.

“If the two countries reach the Semi-finals and have to clash at that time, it is another situation which can’t be avoided, he added.”

He had made firm statements saying that cricketing relations between both the countries is all but over and further added that it was very inappropriate to even think about it.