Nawaz, Modi hold all cards as world awaits Indo-Pak series

KARACHI: When top cricket officials from Pakistan and India held ‘fruitful’ talks in Dubai last Sunday over the fate of their bilateral series, it seemed that things had finally fallen into place for the stalled contest.
With England Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke acting as a mediator, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan and his Indian cricket board counterpart Shashank Manohar reached certain understandings in Dubai which lead to reports that the two neighbours are now all set to play a limited-overs series in Sri Lanka next month.
But when it comes to Indo-Pak sporting contests, which time and again become casualties of politics, you can never be sure. The much-awaited cricket series is no exception.
As the world awaits this great contest, two politicians hold all the cards.
Pakistani cricket officials have announced that they need their government’s permission before going ahead and finalising the details of their ‘home’ series against India.
On the other side of the border, BCCI has given similar signals as it has written a letter to the Indian government asking its permission to play against Pakistan in Sri Lanka.
Such official NoCs can be tricky business but sources have told ‘The News’ that favourable winds are blowing on both sides of the border.
“The government in Pakistan is unlikely to have any problems with the idea of its national team playing its home series against India in Sri Lanka,” a source said.
“Pakistan’s sports ministry has already backed the idea of the series after being asked by the Prime Minister House to give its opinion on the issue,” he added.
Sharif is a big cricket fan and as PCB’s patron-in-chief takes a keen interest in national cricket affairs. He has been briefed by Shaharyar that even a shortened series against India will earn PCB a profit of around US$25 million, a financial boost that the cash-starved Board urgently needs.
“Sharif is likely to give his go-ahead soon,” a well-placed source said. “PCB is anticipating it and has already started doing its homework to successfully arrange matches in Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that the details of the series are likely to be announced on November 28.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi might not be as keen as Sharif but there are signs that he too will follow suit.
Like Sharif, Modi has a long association with cricket. Until becoming premier last year he was President of the Cricket Association of Gujarat, where he was also chief minister.
In May this year he announced that “we have taken the decision to start a cricket series between both countries to improve our relations.”
Sources said that Modi should give the series his blessings in a bid to counter rising criticism against his government’s hard line policies.
“The Modi government is under pressure because of its hard line policies which is why there is a big likelihood that it will make concessions in fields like cricket,” a source said.
“While in the past, the Indian government has refused to give its permission to bilateral cricket against Pakistan it is expected to change that stance in the current scenario.”
Meanwhile, PCB was in a damage-control mode on Wednesday following speculative reports about the Indo-Pak series.
“There has been much speculative reportage on the PCB-BCCI discussions in Dubai under the facilitation of Giles Clarke,” the Board said in a statement.
It clarified that “PCB has informed the government of the talks in Dubai that were regarded as fruitful. The PCB has not asked for an NOC from government for it is the government’s prerogative to decide on the issue.
“Similarly, BCCI is also seeking its government’s views on these matters.” The Board also quashed rumours that the BCCI has demanded a share of the pie. “No request has been received from BCCI regarding the sharing of revenues,” it said, adding that “in due course, Mr. Giles Clarke would brief the media of developments.”