Will wait two days for India response, seems like they don't want to play us: PCB chief Shahryar Khan

India Pakistan series in jeopardy?

The proposed India-Pakistan series was scheduled to begin on December 16 seems to be in jeopardy. Bureaucratic intervention has been an issue for both sides, with an exact venue yet to be established. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stated they will give the BCCI two days to confirm their participation in the series.

PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan has stated that they will wait only one or two days, before axing the plan for the ODI series in Sri Lanka. He said, “In all honesty, there was no cricket discussed in the meeting between India’s foreign minister and the Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif yesterday and the chances of hosting the series seem very bleak. I was hoping to get some good news from the meeting yesterday but that did not happen. We will wait for the next two days, if there is no reponse, we are off.”

After expressing his disappointment of cricket not being discussed in yesterday’s meeting, he added, “We stand to make a loss of close to $ 50 million. The plans to host the series in Sri Lanka had already begun planning for the event and even invested money since it was our home series.”

According to senior BCCI officials, the series was supposed to be begin between December 24 to January 5, but talks seem to have failed again between both parties. Khan said, “It doesn’t make any sense, we went all out to get clearance from out government, we wish the same was reciprocated by the BCCI. That is the exact reason why we signed the MoU. Now we have to sit and have a look at it again. It’s a big loss for us financially.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Khan added, “we are prepared to wait only two more days for BCCI’s response. Seems like they don’t want to play with us”

On being asked about the current situation, a senior BCCI official still remained positive. He said, “We are trying our level best to garner government clearance. It is now up to the government to give us the permission.”

With regard to Pakistan participation in the 2016 T-20 World Cup, Khan added, “We need separate government clearance for that.”