Ambassador Ali Javed accorded a warm welcome to President Italian Cricket Federation (ICF) Madame Maria Lorena Haz Paz at Embassy today. He praised Italy (ranked 28th) for qualifying to ICC T20 World Cup 2026, defeating Netherlands (ranked 13^th) in the Final of the qualifiers and earlier beating Scotland (ranked 14^th).

Noting the immense talent of Italian cricket team backed by a strong commitment from ICF,  the Ambassador praised the rise of cricket in Italy as excellent for furthering the existing spectrum of bilateral strategic cooperation.

President ICF welcomed the initiative for cooperation in field of Cricket, expressing keen interest to establish formal bilateral channels of cooperation with PCB. She expressed goodwill for the vibrant Pakistani community across Italy. Praising bilateral bonds of friendship, she observed the presence of Pak-origin national team players on qualifying Italian team as testimony to strong peoples' linkages.

Both sides discussed preparations for T20 World Cup, including joint technical & training exchanges, players fitness & high-performance program, pre-departure acclimatization and exchanges between men and women national teams.

Ambassador conveyed a most cordial invitation from Chairman PCB Mr. Mohsin Naqvi to President ICF to visit Pakistan and presented PCB souvenir on behalf of the Chairman.  President ICF warmly welcomed the invitation and conveyed her appreciation and best wishes for Chairman PCB.