Imran Khan with members of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta team in Lahore

After bus diplomacy, it is bonding time for B-schools across the border. And with a cricketing icon of the subcontinent throwing his weight behind the initiative, the endeavour can only pick up pace.

An eight-member team from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC) visited Pakistan?s premier B-school, Lahore University of Management Studies (LUMS), between December 22 and 28 with the objective of fostering people-to-people interaction.

While the itinerary ? drawn up by the hosts, the culture society at LUMS ? was packed with social and academic events, the high point for the team was a t?te-?-t?te with Imran Khan.

?We had tea with Imran at his place and he came across as an astute, articulate and exceedingly well-informed individual on political and economic matters,? recounted team member Priyanshu Singh.

From liberalisation of the Indian economy in the early 1990s to pre-eminence of the judiciary in facilitating rapid economic growth, King Khan?s comments on business and economy bowled over the budding managers.

Talking about cricket, the ace all-rounder shared the tourists? concern about lack of fast bowling resources in India?s armoury. ?I asked him why is it that India has better batting talent and Pakistan keeps on producing quality fast bowlers despite similar conditions in both the countries,? recalled Singh.

Imran attributed the phenomenon to ?differences? in the structure of domestic cricket in the neighbouring nations. Grooming batting talent requires rigorous and structured training, which according to the World Cup-winning Pakistani captain was ?missing? in his home country.

Besides the informal chat on cricket, the B-school team also sat through a structured talk on Branding Pakistan, and took part in several impromptu interactive sessions on the LUMS campus.

?The campus with world-class faculty and a vibrant student community has state-of-the-art facilities. The rigorous academic curriculum makes it Pakistan?s numero uno B-school, which can be compared with the best here,? added Singh.

To explore Pakistan beyond the campus, the team trooped into the famed Food Street and Anarkali of Lahore and visited some historical monuments. ?Lahore is quite similar to Delhi. In fact, if you ignore the signboards (written in Urdu), you will think that you are in Delhi,? said Aman, who was also in the team. The other members included Sachin Arora, Subhasis Banerjee, Nageswara Rao, Kirti Sharda, Anil Kumar G. and Vishal Jain.

?The tour was organised at the student level, which the institutes supported. But we don?t want it to be a one-off initiative and will request the authorities to extend the scope of association,? summed up Singh, elaborating on the future of bonding beyond borders.