After Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan on Saturday claimed that the BCCI president Shashank Manohar had called him and told him that his Board has got permission of the government to play a home series against Pakistan, a top Indian cricket official informed that the BCCI had only “informally” asked the Modi government for permission.
Earlier in the day, Manohar, reacting to Khan’s comments in Pakistan, said that it was incorrect to say that the BCCI has got permission to play against Pakistan in India.
“Shashank Manohar called me up on Friday evening and told me they have got clearance from their government to play against us. But he said they wanted to play the series in India and not in the UAE,” Shahryar said in Pakistan.
However, on Saturday, Manohar did not agree entirely with what Khan had said.
“It’s an incorrect statement. We have not yet approached the government. Yes, I have talked to him over phone and we may talk again in the next couple of days,” Manohar said.
However, another top Indian cricket official disclosed that the BCCI had indeed sounded out the Modi government for permission to play the series in India next month, as that is the only time available for the Indian team.
“We have so far not sent any written application to our government for permission, but we have informally asked it that we want to play against Pakistan,” the official told JantaKaReporter.com.
According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, India and Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs amd three T20 Internationals next month in the UAE. But due to the often strained relations between the two countries the Indian government is unlikely to allow the team to play in the UAE.
This series should ideally be played in Pakistan but due to security reason no international teams have been touring Pakistan for six years.
Recently, Khan, along with PCB director Najam Sethi and COO Subhan Ahmed, visited Mumbai for a meeting with Manohar. But the meeting was cancelled after Shiv Sainiks stormed the BCCI headquarters and threatened BCCI officials, including Manohar, to not to hold talks with the PCB and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.
When they stormed the BCCI headquarters, the PCB delegation was not there.
After the BCCI-PCB talks were cancelled, Sethi and Ahmed returned to Dubai while Khan and his wife reached Delhi and talks with some Delhi-based BCCI officials.