Daily Times

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Executive Committee Chairman Najam Sethi has said that Pakistan will not go to India in 2017 until India tour Pakistan first.

The comments came days after Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) Secretary Anurag Thakur said there was no chance of an India-Pakistan series even in 2016.

“They will have to fulfill what they owe us this year or the next (before we can tour India),” Sethi told ESPNcricinfo.

According to the signed MOU, Pakistan is due to host four series out of six till 2023, and the first series was supposed to take place in December last year.

Sethi said that eventually BCCI will have to play, because they have to keep their contractual obligation.

“They have to keep their contractual obligation,” said Sethi. “They owe us four home series, and Pakistan gets to host the first one. It was supposed to happen in December but it didn’t.

Eventually, they have to fulfill their obligation before we will go there. They either have to play us in the UAE, or Sri Lanka or wherever we can mutually agree on.

The former PCB chairman went on to say that if both governments agree, it should not be hard to find a two week window for the series in 2016.

“Where there is a will, there is a way,” said Sethi. “I don’t see any reason why BCCI can’t play this year. If both governments allow us to play, then its not really hard to find a 10 to 15 days [window] but for this there should be a will.”

Earlier, BCCI secretary made it clear that there is no series planned between the two nations for 2016. “No series planned against Pakistan this year. India will only play against them in multinational tournaments,” Thakur told ANI.

Last year, in December, there was a high chance of a short series being played when Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Pakistan but it was not to be.

The PCB also seconded what Thakur said, saying that 2016 is a hectic year for both cricketing nations but refused to slam the door shut on the series as emphatically as the BCCI official.

“To be honest, the Pakistan team doesn’t have time for another series as we play a lot of cricket in 2016 with tours of Australia and England,” said a PCB official. “So in terms of the schedule of both boards, a bilateral series wouldn’t be possible.

“However, if the Indian government gives special permission to the BCCI then maybe we can create a small window for it.”