PCB presses India for bilateral series

KARACHI: Hoping against hope, PCB on Wednesday pressed India for a definitive reply on the possibility of their national team playing Pakistan in a full series in the UAE later this year.
Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, has sent a letter to a top Indian cricket board (BCCI) official asking him for an update about the proposed series which is supposed to be hosted by Pakistan during December-January.
The series, if held, will include two Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game. However, it remains highly uncertain because the Indians have been sending strong signals that they won’t fulfill their commitment on the pretext of cross-border tensions between the two neighbours.
In such circumstances, the chances of the series taking place appear less than slim.
But Shaharyar has made a last-ditch effort by telling BCCI’s hawkish secretary Anurag Thakur that sport and politics don’t mix well.
“I have written a letter to Mr Thakur, saying that cricket and politics should be kept apart,” Shaharyar was quoted as saying in an interview on Wednesday.
“I am positive that the BCCI shall be able to convince the Indian government that it ought to honour its MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the PCB,” he said.
Pakistan and India have not played a full series against each other since 2007, though Pakistan toured India for a short series in December 2012.
Last year PCB and BCCI had signed a MoU under which they were scheduled to play six series in the 2015-2023 Future Tours Programme, but all were subject to clearance from New Delhi.
Shaharyar, a former foreign secretary and a career diplomat, said that strained relations should not affect cricket.
“While relations between Pakistan and India have seen its share of ups and downs, cricket should be kept out of it,” he said.
Thakur has previously said that the countries’ cricket teams should not meet while relations between the South Asian neighbours remain fraught, saying cricket cannot be played with bullets.
“On one hand there is a rise in terrorist activity, on the other you can’t expect to play a cricket series with Pakistan,” Thakur said in July.
Last week Thakur softened his stance, telling a private television channel in Pakistan that a series was possible.
“If situation improves I cannot rule out cricket series in December,” Thakur said. “I toured Pakistan in 2004 and was overwhelmed, and when Pakistan toured India the following year I distributed sweets on their captain’s (Inzamam-ul-Haq) birthday.”
But Thakur has been pretty unpredictable in his comments about the possibility of a series with Pakistan.
He recently stressed that the series would not go ahead. “Dawood in Karachi. NSA wants to meet separatists here. Are you really serious about peace and you expect we’ll play cricket with you?” Thakur tweeted recently.
But Shaharyar has responded by telling BCCI that: “Cricket is a tool to formulate peace between the countries.”