CHENNAI: Even though Sports Minister Vijay Goel reiterated the Centre’s stand that there is no chance of India and Pakistan resuming bilateral cricket ties, the cricket boards held a meeting in Dubai on Monday. Though nothing concrete came out of the talks, it is understood that the Pakistan Cricket Board has asked the BCCI to explore other possibilities. If not in Florida, the teams might feature in a series in Sri Lanka early next year as part of their 60th independence anniversary.
On Sunday, Goel had told Express that there is no change in the government’s stand that under prevailing circumstances, cricket and terrorism cannot go hand in hand. On Monday, he echoed similar sentiments. With the Centre not even responding to BCCI’s letter seeking permission to play Pakistan, the writing was very much on the cards as far as the Dubai meeting goes.
It is understood that the ICC might get involved in some capacity with Giles Clarke, who is the head of the Pakistan Task Force, mediating the talks in the future if a need arises. As part of it, the ICC might even send representatives to hold talks with Indian government. Though PCB is open to this, the BCCI is against any third party intervention and believes the boards can handle this on their own.
The BCCI, represented by secretary Amitabh Choudhary, CEO Rahul Johri and MV Sridhar (cricket operations), told PCB chief Shahryar Khan that their hands are tied and they won’t be able to commit to any bilateral series until government gives clearance. The PCB was aware of this, and wanted to explore other options, top of them being Indo-Pak cricket in multi-nation events.
However, sources indicated that the PCB has requested the BCCI if it could accommodate Pakistan in a series in Florida likely to feature India, Australia and South Africa. “Both boards are aware that bilateral cricket can’t resume under prevailing circumstances. And we want to move forward. There is no point suing each other and making it more complicated. The PCB completely understood that. Pakistan is even open to coming down to India, but we cannot commit to it until we speak to our members and get a go-ahead from the government.
“There were talks of playing each other in multilateral events. But chances of Pakistan playing in Florida are minimal because the window is short, but Sri Lanka could be a possibility. We have had talks on this before,” a board official said. Soon after the meeting, the BCCI said, “The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and its outcome will be shared with the members of their respective boards.”
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com