Sports Minister Vijay Goel
The frozen bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan are unlikely to resume anytime soon after government’s outright rejection yesterday even as a meeting between the two boards failed to yield any decisive outcome.
On a day the two boards met in Dubai to discuss their ties, which have remained suspended since 2012 due to diplomatic tensions after terror attacks in India, Sports Minister Vijay Goel ruled out bilateral cricket between the two arch-rivals.
Goel made it clear that the government will not give its nod till the time "cross-border terrorism" does not stop. "BCCI should speak to the government before giving any proposal to Pakistan.
I have made it clear that bilateral cricket with Pakistan is not possible till the time there is cross-border terror. We have, however, no say on multilateral events (ICC tournaments)," said Goel. The minister’s firm statement all but rendered the meeting in Dubai inconsequential as the BCCI had already stated repeatedly that it would play Pakistan only if the government gave its go ahead.
"The delegations of the BCCI and PCB have met in Dubai today and shared their stated positions. The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and its outcome will be shared with the members of their respective boards," said a brief statement from BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary.
The BCCI, represented by joint secretary Choudhary along with CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) MV Sridhar, discussed the pressing issues including the USD 60 million compensation demanded by the PCB. The PCB has sent a legal notice to BCCI claiming damages to the tune of USD 60 million (R387 crore approx) for allegedly not honouring the MoU that had stated five bilateral series in the cycle between 2015-2023.
Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr