Ashraf hopeful of two more Asian representations in 2011 WC

With Asia becoming a powerhouse in world cricket, newly elected Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, Nasim Ashraf exuded confidence that two more Asian nations would qualify for the 2011 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"We are expecting that in the next two years hopefully one more team from Asia will get One-day status," said Ashraf after the annual general meeting of ACC.

Ashraf, who also heads the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), said China, a new entrant to the sport had great potential to become a strong cricket playing nation with a population of a billion people.

"The introduction of cricket in China has given ACC a boost for sure as is the decision to have Twenty20 cricket among eight teams in the 2010 Asian Games in China," he added.

Ashraf, who assumed his new office o Sunday during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ACC here, said his first task after becoming ACC president would be to improve ACC's relation with the ICC.

"We are also hoping to better our relations with the International Cricket Council (ICC)," he stated.

The AGM also decided to host the 2010's Asia Cup in an associate member nation, but the name of the host was not decided as the officials said that the schedule depended on the availability of the teams.

The AGM also discussed the relaunching of the Afro-Asia Cup and revival of cricket activities in Sharjah which has the honour of having hosted the most ODI games.

"There was discussion on these two issues at the AGM and the consensus was that efforts must be made to work on both these things," Ashraf informed.