The chances of Pakistan-India cricket match this December seem to be over, said a Pakistani daily which noted that at a time “when communalism is on the rise in India”, the Pakistani cricket team visiting the country carries an obvious threat.
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BCCI president Shashank Manohar said the Indian board had enough reason to refuse playing against Pakistan even at a neutral venue like UAE.
Talking to reporters here at the PCB headquarters, he said that there were no security fears of playing in the UAE.
Khan though admitted that if the series with India did not go ahead then the PCB would face financial constraints but would not go bankrupt as feared by a few people. This time not again.
Speaking about Pakistan’s participation at the ICC World T20 scheduled to take place in India early next year, Mr. Shaharyar M. Khan stated: “Keeping in mind the security situation, we will have to seek necessary approvals from the Pakistan government for the World T20”. During IPL 2014, none of the franchises fielded Sri Lanka players in the XI when they played at MA Chidambaram Stadium.
The Hindustan Times quoted Najam Sethi, the chief of the PCB’s executive committee saying, “The Pakistani government position is that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) can not play in India without the government’s permission which has not been given”.
However, it is understood that only about a month’s window is available for the series as India travel to Australia on January 8 for limited-over contests from January 12. Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Mr. Shahryar Khan said that the bilateral series in India is out of the question. The only issue is which matches can be played in Chennai. “They must stick to their guns, plead their case before the ICC, and if need be, take BCCI to court for breach of contract”, the daily added. “There were certain centres which were given deadlines of August 25 to submit completion reports and we are still waiting for their certificates”, Thakur said.
Of late, there has been a growing unanimity within the PCB not to tour India since it is their home series.
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That figure is roughly the commercial value that the PCB has ascribed to an India home series, including broadcast revenue from Ten Sports and potential sponsorship earning.
