BCCI should honour the MoU, we are not begging them, says PCB chief Shahryar Khan

Shahryar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman has once again come forward and has asked the BCCI to honour the MoU signed between the two boards with respect to the bilateral series. Khan, however, was quick to mention that he is not begging the BCCI in any which way but he will keep pushing the Indian board to honour the deal which makes a mention of six bilateral series between the two nations.

“We are not begging them to play us. Please don’t get that impression. But they (BCCI) signed a proper Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with us to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023 and they didn’t meet their commitment,” Khan said.

“It is our right as a cricket nation to push them to honour the MOU. They immediately owe us at least two home series as the last full bilateral series was played in India in 2007. In the MOU, Pakistan was to host four series between 2015 and 2023,” he further added.

The relationship between the two nations hit rock bottom after the Pathankot and Uri attacks, and thus the cricketing ties had to be snapped. BCCI president Anurag Thakur has already gone on record saying that unless relationships improve between the neighbours, there is no chance of resuming cricketing relationships.

"There are no tests or bilateral matches scheduled for this year with Pakistan and the question of playing against Pakistan today does not arise," Thakur said after the Uri attacks.

"We have defeated Pakistan in three wars and all the world cup cricket matches. We can still maul Pakistan. But it is important to isolate it globally," he added.

Shahryar Khan, however, says that India's refusal to play cricket has made a huge debt into the finances of the PCB and thus the ICC will take up this issue during the meeting of the ICC executive board in Cape Town.

“We have been consulting our lawyers on this issue of the MOU and we will be taking up this case of bilateral series at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting this month,” Khan informed.