BCCI, PCB chiefs confident of Pakistan hosting India for a three-Test bilateral series in December
They had broken the ice in 2004, when there was a pause in India-Pakistan bilateral series following the Kargil War. A decade later, Jagmohan Dalmiya and Shahryar Khan appear to be close to bringing about a thaw in the cricketing relationship of both countries again. Both have returned to take charge of cricket in their respective countries; Dalmiya as BCCI president and Khan as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. And if things go to plan, the arch-rivals will face-off in a bilateral series in the UAE in December.
Khan’s arrival in Kolkata on Saturday evening was eventful. He was detained at the airport for over five hours due to technical reasons. But the 81-year-old administrator looked fresh when he called on Dalmiya at his residence on Sunday afternoon. They discussed the future of India-Pakistan cricket, resumption of the bilateral series being the sole agenda. In the end, both oozed optimism.
“As you know, we’ve (BCCI and PCB) signed a MoU to play five series in eight years, and the first of these is scheduled to take place in December this year. It will have three Tests, five ODIs and two T20 internationals. I’m very realistic. We still have a few months to go. But we both have agreed and the preparations have begun. The UAE is ready to hold the Test matches in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It will be followed by the limited-overs games. We just need to sit and sort out the minor hurdles,” Khan said after the meeting. “I’ve come here to state that this is an important beginning; the revival of India-Pakistan cricket, which is so important for the cricketing community in both the countries and all over the world. This is more important than any other series in the world. More important than the Ashes,” he added.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was keen to host the series and the PCB chief thanked them for the offer.
“I’ve just been to Bangladesh. They’re very keen. They told me ‘why are you going to the UAE? Why don’t you play your matches here? You will get a full house here if India-Pakistan are playing’. So we will consider Bangladesh and other countries (in the future) where we can schedule our home matches which at the moment we cannot in Pakistan,” he said.
Ball in government’s court
Even the ICC is said to be eagerly waiting for the series to resume. “The ICC is fully in the picture and they want us to play. Within 20 minutes after the (World Cup) match between India and Pakistan was scheduled in Adelaide, all the tickets were sold out. This shows the importance of what the India-Pakistan series holds,” said Khan.
Dalmiya, too, sounded hopeful, but he preferred a more cautious approach. After all, the final decision lies with the central government. “All the details can’t be furnished at the moment. There are various things that need to be ironed out. You’ve to wait further to get the details. As far as India is concerned, we are sure…We’ve to come forward. We’ve to look into it and once we do that we’ll be back in regular cricket. But without the support of the government we can’t do anything. We will be informing you from time to time. At the moment, we find no problems,” said the BCCI president.
Dalmiya had played a stellar role in breaking the stalemate in 2004. India toured Pakistan and once again, went there in 2005-06. In between, Pakistan had come to Kolkata to play the BCCI Platinum Jubilee match. The 2008 Mumbai attacks stopped the sequence before Pakistan came here for three ODIs and two T20s in 2012-13. The neighbours haven’t played a bilateral series since.
Pak players in IPL
The proposed resumption of the bilateral series might open the door for Pakistan cricketers to play in the IPL. “Dalmiya and Khan didn’t directly talk about the subject, but they agreed that if India and Pakistan start playing again, a lot of other issues would be solved. Pakistan players’ participation in the IPL is one of them,” said an insider present during the meeting.
