There was no clause of seeking govt permission: Pak-India had signed binding agreement, PCB tells ICC

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday yet again made it clear to the International Cricket Council (ICC) that Pakistan and India signed a binding agreement in 2014 of playing six bilateral series in eight years with no clause of seeking government permission.

The agreement was penned down when India sought highest post in the ICC Big Three to pocket lion’s share of the ICC revenue. The PCB sent its answer to International Cricket Council (ICC) over a miscarried cricket agreement on bilateral series between Pakistan and India.

A three-day hearing before ICC regarding the botched cricket agreement on bilateral series between the two countries concluded on October 3. The ICC’s panel sought answers from PCB and Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) to be submitted within a week’s time.

In its letter, PCB pointed out its financial loss given India’s reluctance with the agreement between the two cricketing board.

“PCB has suffered financial loss due to India not honouring the agreement between the two cricketing boards.”

The reply stated that there was no clause regarding seeking permission from the government in the agreement. The written reply stated that the dispute between the two cricketing board has been following since an agreement signed in April 2014 to start bilateral matches between the countries. India, however, did not honour the agreement and PCB filed a notice of dispute with the cricket’s governing body last November claiming damages from the BCCI. The PCB has demanded 70 million dollars in compensation from India, putting forth that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2014 had promised six bilateral series between 2015 and 2022.

Four of the six series were to be hosted by Pakistan in the UAE or in Pakistan with mutual consent, while the other two will be hosted by India. The PCB, led by Zaka Ashraf, had initially shown strong opposition to the ‘Big Three’ plan, which gave India, England and Australia the power to dominate world cricket. Later, PCB under Shaharyar Khan and Najam Sethi first agreed to the Big Three idea and then played a leading role in the rollback of Big Three after BCCI used PCB is getting to the top.