NEW DELHI: The Indian government on Wednesday gave approval to an India-Pakistan series likely to be held in UAE in December this year, say reports.
Though there has been no official statement, the approval came after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Earlier, Shahryar Khan also held meetings with BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur.
BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya wants India-Pakistan cricket to resume the bilateral series with first Test in Kolkata. But, PCB chief Shahryar Khan wants a series in UAE, according to reports.
The proposed full-fledged series – three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s – is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two cricket Boards last year.
If the this bilateral series is held as per the reports, it would be the first series in eight years after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
The revival of Indo-Pak cricketing ties has 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.
Asked if it would be a hindrance for the proposed series, Khan said: “No. I must explain that we will be dealing with the issue in the next few weeks and hopefully we will find a resolution to that.”
The proposal to revive Indo-Pak cricketing ties also faced opposition from political leaders with former Home Secretary and BJP MP from Bihar’s Arrah, R.K Singh, raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during zero hour yesterday.
Khan said: “It is not so much with the Government of India. It is the BCCI and the broadcasters. We will jointly try to overcome it and I’m hopeful we can.” The proposed ful-fledged series, which will involve three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two Boards last year and will be hosted by Pakistan in the UAE.
Talking about the MoU, Khan said: “India used to be hesitant in coming to UAE for the matches but ever since they had their IPL in UAE, I think their reservation have been resolved. “Therefore, the MoU, clearly says that the first series will be hosted by Pakistan in UAE and BCCI agreed to that,” he told “Times Now” channel.
Currently in India, Khan had a series of meetings with BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, Union Minister Arun Jaitley and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur during the past few days.
PTI