Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is of the opinion that bilateral cricketing ties with India cannot improve till the time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in power.
Afridi blamed Modi for further damaging the relations between Pakistan and India since his Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in India in 2014.
“Till Modi is in power, I don’t think we will get any response from India. We have all, including Indians, understood the way Modi thinks. His thinking is inclined towards negativity,” Afridi said in an interview to Cricket Pakistan when asked if bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan can resume.
“Relationship between India and Pakistan has been damaged because of one person only. And that is not what we want.
“People from either side of the border want to travel to each other’s country. I don’t understand what Modi wants to do and what his agenda really is,” Afridi further said.
India and Pakistan last participated in a bilateral series in 2012-13 when Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez’s teams came to India to play a series of 2 T20Is and 3 ODIs. India’s last visit to Pakistan was in 2006 during Rahul Dravid’s tenure as captain.
Ever since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008, the two cricket powerhouses only face each other during ICC tournaments.
Afridi meanwhile, also credited the success of Indian cricket to the Indian Premier League, saying it has helped the country’s budding cricketers to cope better with the pressures of international cricket.
“I think the IPL turned around Indian cricket. Their new players after having played in the IPL with top foreign players and having shared the dressing room with them are ready when they come into international cricket. They are ready to cope with the pressures at this level.
