Cricket diplomacy is back again! India-Pakistan cricket ties may soon resume after Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan announced that he has got the green signal from India for a series, which will involve three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. The cricket series is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two Boards last year. As per an MoU it is Pakistan’s turn to host the series in December in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Sources said the decision to restore cricketing ties has been taken at the “highest-level” after Khan met Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday, though a formal announcement from the Indian side is yet to be made. During the last couple of days Khan also met Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur.
“I met Jagmohan Dalmiya in Kolkata, I met Arun Jaitley and I met Anurag Thakur. After meeting all three, I feel we are on the right track and hopefully the Indian Government will give its permission too,” Khan said. However, the Indian Government is tight-lipped as of now. Khan is in India to discuss various issues including telecast rights.
“There are many issues to be resolved between BCCI and the PCB. The discussion is at a preliminary stage,” said Anurag Thakur. One of the biggest issues among the two cricket Boards is that of broadcast rights. However, Khan said it will be sorted out soon. Bilateral cricket ties between the two countries snapped following the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in 2008 by leT. However, efforts were made to revive cricketing ties in 2012. The two countries played one short series of three ODIs and two T20 matches in India in December 2012. Otherwise, they have met only in ICC-organised events like the World Cup or the Asia Cup.
However, the revival of Indo-Pak cricketing ties hit a roadblock after differences emerged between PCB and BCCI over broadcast rights issues, in particular the PCB’s series-by-series association with Ten Sports. The BCCI reportedly does not approve of the PCB-Ten Sports deal and is not keen on an India-Pakistan series being broadcast by a potential rival group.
Talking about the MoU, Khan said: “India used to be hesitant about going to the UAE for the matches but ever since they had their IPl in UAE, I think their reservations have been resolved. Therefore, the MoU, clearly says that the first series will be hosted by Pakistan in UAE and BCCI agreed to that,” Khan said. Meanwhile, the proposal to revive Indo-Pak cricketing ties faced opposition from political leaders including BJP’s own MP Kirti Azad and former Home Secretary and MP RK Singh. Singh raised the issue in the lok Sabha during Zero Hour on Tuesday.