Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan does not foresee a series with India in the near future owing to the current political tension between the two countries.
The chances of Pakistan’s full series against India scheduled for December in the UAE therefore looks highly doubtful and Khan says the PCB are in the process of drawing up alternative plans.
Shoaib Akhtar “there’s a lot of unrest on the borders & it’s not right to play cricket between India & Pakistan at this time” #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) August 27, 2015
“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,” Khan 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.
“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,” he told ESPNcricinfo.
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The Board of Control for Cricket India and the PCB had signed a memorandum of understanding last year to play against each other in six series between 2015 and 2023, with the first scheduled in UAE four months later.
It’s been seven years since both countries lined up for a full-fledged series after 2007 when India hosted Pakistan. The three-match ODI series in India in 2013 was the last meeting between the two teams in a bilateral series.
Meanwhile, Shah said the PCB has devised an action plan for the return of banned internationals – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. All three will be clear to return to competitive cricket from Wednesday, but they will first have to comply with the PCB’s reintigration programme, according to Khan.
“While we recognise the importance of getting these three players back in the fold, we are also cautious of the adverse impact it could have, not only on the entire nation but on their fellow players, if we hastily induct them into the national side,” he told pcb.com.pk.
