Shaharyar Khan says Pakistan are not dependent on India

Shaharyar Khan is not impressed with the development between Pakistan-India

Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman has said the bilateral series chances between Pakistan-India are very less looking at the current political turmoil situation between two nations, reports ESPNcricinfo.

"Given the present circumstance, the chances of a Pakistan-India series look bleak and we have to live with the fact that India are not going to play us," Shaharyar said. "At the same time the BCCI hasn't formally refused us, but we can't wait long amid this uncertainty and have got to have an alternative plan. We will wait for another couple of months before forcing our plan B."

He is hoping for some improvement in the relationship between the two neighbours in the near future. Shaharyar stressed on the point that cricket should not suffer between politics.

"I hope the climate will improve but at the moment it's more a political tension … the relationship between the countries is complex but cricket shouldn't be suffering, it is after all something that can be a tool to lower the tension."

The PCB chairman said he understands how big the BCCI is and the perks of playing India, but he firmly made a point that Pakistan cricket is not dependent upon their neighbouring board and can survive without playing the.

"We understand the BCCI is financially very sound and we are the ones who have suffered a lot in all this," Shaharyar said. "It's not that we can't survive without playing them. We are surviving, and can survive, but our position is that the game shouldn't be mixed up with the politics. So we are trying to get the series revived based on the MOU they have signed with us. They have to honour it and if they don't it's their responsibility."

Recently, the BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur gave a statement that any bilateral series between India and Pakistan was unlikely until the political relationship between the two countries was stable.

He spoke after a gunfight in the Gurdaspur district in Punjab - close to India's border with Pakistan - led to several civilian casualties. Thakur, a Member of Parliament from India's ruling BJP, commented the incident as an example of why he believed the time was not right for a cricket series with Pakistan, has said that any bilateral series between India and Pakistan was unlikely until the political relationship between the two countries was stable.

India-Pakistan played a full-fledged Test and ODI series last time in the year 2007-08, which the Indian team won by 1-0 and 3-2 respectively.