New Delhi: The Cricket ties between India and Pakistan are not to be resumed anytime soon as the NDA government is believed to have hinted to BCCI that it is not in favour of a cricket series with the neighbour in current atmosphere.
The government is unlikely to give its nod to the proposed India-Pak series even in a neutral venue like Sri Lanka, Hindustan Times reported.
“The government has given us an indication that public sentiment at the moment is against Pakistan, which is involved in anti-India activities. Also, there are only a few days left for the proposed series to start (in the latter half of December). If the government wanted us to play, we would have got clearance a long time ago. So, I don't think this series is happening,” the daily quoted a top BCCI official.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur has said that the board is yet receive any official word from the government.
When asked about the pending request with External Affairs Ministry, a spokesperson said that the ministry is yet to take a decision.
Reports last week suggested that the decision on the propose series will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Both the BCCI and the PCB had met recently in Dubai and agreed to play a series in Sri Lanka subject to clearances from their governments.
Last week, the PCB announced that Islamabad had given the nod for the series but the BCCI remained silent since its secretary Anurag Thakur submitted a written request to the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.
BCCI functionary Rajiv Shukla had informed that the bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan will be played in Sri Lanka tentatively from December 15 and also the two sides will play 5 matches (3 ODIs and 2 T20 games).
India has not played a full bilateral Test series with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to a MoU signed between the PCB and BCCI, both countries are scheduled to play six series between 2015 and 2023.
