The Board of Control for Cricket in India, on Thursday, said it has reminded the government a fortnight ago about the contentious issue of resuming bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan.
The BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board are scheduled to meet in Dubai later this month to resolve the prevailing bilateral issues.
Like many other board officials in the past, BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary too made it clear that the decision to play Pakistan in a bilateral series rests solely with the government.
“There is nothing new in the situation. We had written to the government seeking their permission to play Pakistan three months ago. We issued them a reminder 15 days ago. We are yet to get a reply. Only the government can decide whether we can play Pakistan or not,” Choudhary was quoted as saying by PTI.
The PCB has sent a notice of intent to the BCCI claiming compensation of around $60 million for India not honouring the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two boards in 2014 to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.
Under the MoU, Pakistan is supposed to host four of the six series. A source close to development had earlier said that International Cricket Council chief executive Dave Richardson will also attend the meeting in a bid to convince Pakistan to not file a case with the ICC disputes resolution committee against the BCCI.
India’s sports minister, Vijay Goel, recently shut the door on any sporting ties between the neighbouring countries, alleging that Pakistan is “sponsoring cross border terrorism”, “Terrorism and sports can’t go along and Pakistan should understand that. The relation between India and Pakistan can be cordial only after Pakistan stops sponsoring cross border terrorism,” Goel said.
Pakistan, wrestling and squash teams claimed that they were not handed visas to play in India. A few days ago, Goel categorically stated that Pakistan’s kabaddi team was not welcome to play in the upcoming edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.