A news which can dishearten cricket lovers of the two arch rivals — India and Pakistan — the Indian Premier league governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla on Friday said that the cricket ties between the two nations “will have to wait” for some time more. His reaction came as the speculation was rife that the Indo-Pak cricket ties would resume soon after Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan had met his Indian counterpart Jagmohan Dalmiya in Kolkata, besides other officials of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).
“There are no immediate chances of revival of cricketing ties between the two countries. We all want it to resume but there are two-three issues in that,” said Shukla. He said: “First issue is that of where to play…whether to go for a neutral ground or in Pakistan or India. The situation in Pakistan is not fine and as security issues are involved, we also have to take clearances from the government…Till these are resolved, we will have to wait.” “According to the itinerary, India will have to play in Pakistan, but at present, it’s not possible…There was also talk about playing at a neutral venue, but we are not in favour of that,” he said. “As of now, all I can say that the cricket ties have not yet resumed,” he said.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two boards, India and Pakistan had agreed to play six bilateral series until 2022, but Shukla said that a number of things need to be worked out before giving the go-ahead to the proposed series by PCB. He said that PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan had Dalmiya, he also met me and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur in New Delhi to host a bilateral series in December in UAE.
Shukla said that the Pakistan board had also desired to play in India, “but there are revenue problems involved”. The Indo-Pak cricket rivalry is one of the most intense sports rivalries in the world. India toured Pakistan for the first time in 1954-55, and between 1962 and 1977, no cricket was played between the two countries owing to two major wars in 1965 and 1971. The cricket ties were also interrupted due to 1999 Kargil War. And now, following 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, India had suspended all bilateral series with Pakistan. The last match between the two arch rivals was played in the 2015 world cup on February 15.