Cricket Board of Maldives President Mr Mohamed Aflah has attended the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lahore, Pakistan. Delegates from ACC member countries and officials were in attendance. This was the first AGM hosted by Pakistan in more than a decade.
Mr Aflah competed in an election for a seat of the Executive Board of the Asian Cricket Council as an Affiliate member and won. This now means that the Cricket Board of Maldives President has a seat on the ICC Development Board and the ACC Board. As cricket enters a new period of governance and organising from 2019, Maldives is well placed to understand the challenges ahead and influence the decisions going forward.
The members were briefed about the ACC Development plans, events and the programs implemented in 2017. A brief presentation was made on the recently held Unimoni Asia Cup in the UAE. The tournament attracted huge crowds at the two venues (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and top quality cricket was witnessed, the event was a big success for the ACC.
The ACC Presidency has been handed over to Bangladesh with Mr. Nazmul Hassan (President Bangladesh Cricket Board) taking over from Mr. Ehsan Mani (Chairman PCB) for the term 2018-2020.
Commenting on his new role as the President of the ACC, Mr. Nazmul Hassan said that “I am honoured to take over the coveted role of ACC President. My foremost endeavour would be to bring the Asian cricket playing countries together and promote the sport around the region. The Asian wing is right now the strongest as far as international cricket is concerned with as many as five Test playing nations and two countries with ODI status.
I have already been associated with ACC for a number of years and I hope my experience will help me in taking the ACC to greater heights in unison with all member countries.” Mr. Nazmul Hassan concluded.
During the meeting Afghanistan was unanimously selected as full member ACC.
Members also spoke about the inclusion of cricket in multi sports events like the Asian Games, efforts should be made to ensure the same for the 2022 Asian Games scheduled in China.
The members meanwhile also discussed the possibilities of resumption of international cricket in Pakistan through the ACC platform.
The Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2018 is being jointly hosted by PCB and Sri Lanka Cricket, with the Group B matches taking place in Karachi next month (Group A matches are being hosted in Sri Lanka) the members felt it is a step in the right direction for bringing back top quality cricket in the country. The ACC endeavour’s to take similar steps in the future.
Mr. David Richardson (CEO ICC) gave a presentation to the ACC member countries on the ICC Global Strategy and how it can help them to grow the game in their respective countries.
Mohammad Aflah, President Cricket Board of Maldives thanked PCB and National Cricket Academy Management (NCA) for organising a successful tour of Lahore last month.
Mr. Ehsan Mani in his address thanked the ACC and ICC officials, “I want to thank the ACC members, Mr. David Richardson (ICC, CEO) and other ICC officials for coming over to Lahore for the AGM. The Asian region is incredibly important for the future of international cricket comprising the biggest fan base for the game.
I welcome Mr. Nazmul Hasan as the new President of the ACC, I am confident that he will work in promoting the game further in the region. I would also like to thank the ACC Board and all member countries for their support during Pakistan’s tenure.” Chairman PCB Mr. Ehsan Mani stated.
At the end of the session the ACC members thanked the PCB for making excellent arrangements for the AGM.
