Indo-Asian news service
New Delhi, Sept 26: Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajiv Shukla said Saturday that there is bleak chance for the proposed bilateral series between India and Pakistan to materialise.
“There are certain requirements, safety being the top priority, that need to be met in order for the series to take place at all. Indo-Pak series still a distant dream,” Shukla said at an event here.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year, agreeing to play six bilateral series from 2015 to 2023.
According to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) provisional Future Tour Programme (FTP), the two countries are scheduled to play a total of 12 Tests, 30 one-dayers and 11 T20s over the six series.
The first of these were originally scheduled to start in December with Pakistan hosting India for two Tests, five one-dayers and two T20s in the United Arab Emirates. But the series has been thrown into uncertainty due to diplomatic tension between the two countries triggered by chronic violence on the border.
Reacting to Shaharyar Khan’s recent statement of boycotting India in ICC tournaments if they refused to play the proposed series against Pakistan in December, IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla Saturday said PCB will have to bear the brunt in that case. PCB is bound by the rules of the ICC, if it backs out it will have to bear the fine,” he said.
