Pak-India cricket series not happening

The Indian Home Ministry had ruled out the chances of renewal of cricket ties with Pakistan ‘in the current circumstances.’

The Indian minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that cricket ties with Pakistan are not likely to resume any time soon.

“In the current circumstances cricket between India and Pakistan is not possible,” Ahir sais, reported the Indian Express.

The statement comes in response to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) letter to the home ministry, seeking permission for a bilateral series against Pakistan at the neutral venue later this year.

The Indian board has to complete their obligations under the Future Tours & Programme (FTP) agreement which was inked in 2014. As per FTP agreements, November was reserved for an India-Pakistan series.

“It’s procedure which the board has to follow. If we want to play Pakistan we can’t get up one day and say, we will be playing them. We need the government’s clearance way in advance so that we can plan it out,” informed a BCCI official.

Earlier, it was learnt that the BCCI is willing to play a series against Pakistan in Dubai.

“There is the FTP agreement that needs to be fulfilled and that’s why the board is willing to travel to Dubai to play a series against Pakistan. Unless the government gives its nod, the BCCI cannot do anything,” the Indian Express quoted a BCCI source as saying on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, reacting on the development, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan said the Indian cricket board has so far not contacted the PCB on the issue.

“I got to know about this development through Indian media,” Dawn.com quoted Khan as saying. “The BCCI is probably afraid of the International Cricket Board (ICC) and therefore wants to play the series now,” he remarked.