See you in court, PCB tells BCCI

Shaharyar rules out revival of bilateral Indo-Pak series

KARACHI: Shaharyar Khan will quit as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman in August this year. But before stepping down, the ex-diplomat plans to begin legal proceedings against the Indian cricket board (BCCI) over India’s failure to fulfil a commitment to play bilateral matches against Pakistan.

Earlier this week, media outlets on both sides of the border were buzzing with reports that BCCI has sought permission from its government to play a bilateral series with Pakistan.

But Shaharyar played down hopes of such a development and instead announced that PCB will soon take BCCI to court.

“There is no chance of an India-Pakistan series,” the PCB chief told reporters in Lahore. “If you remember we signed an MoU with BCCI in 2014 whereby we had to play six series in eight years. India has already ditched us for two series citing government’s refusal and the third one is not on in the current scenario. This leaves us with no other option except to take a legal action against them. We want to play cricket. We will be giving them a legal notice.

“However, before that, we will take our case to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) dispute resolution committee. If there is no favourable outcome, then we will go to court. I think we have a strong case.”

In 2014, PCB and BCCI had signed an agreement to play a total of six series, four of whom were supposed to be hosted by Pakistan.

According to the deal, the first series was scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan in UAE in 2015 but no series has taken place yet due to the political tension between the two countries.

The cricket-mad countries have not played a bilateral series since 2007, however, Pakistan travelled to India for a three-match ODI series in 2011-2012.

Last year, there were talks about staging a series in Sri Lanka but BCCI backed out from its commitment after not getting clearance from the Indian government.

Meanwhile, Shaharyar also revealed that he intends to step down as PCB chairman in August this year.

“I will not be a part of PCB after the August 2018 in any capacity,” he said. “It is a personal decision; my health also is a reason. I have given it in written to the Patron that he can accept my resignation after the stipulated period and appoint a new chairman in accordance with the constitution. “I have also informed Prime Minister about my decision as well.”