By: Tarish Bhatt
It’s been a while India and Pakistan have locked horns in a bilateral series, and with the political tension still persisting between the two nations, it looks unlikely they will be playing each other anytime soon.
However, India and Pakistan were slated to revive the rivalry in the United Arab Emirates, but terror attack in Gurdaspur last month put the proposed series into cold storage.
There is a diplomatic talk to be held between India and Pakistan, and the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board Shaharyar Khan is hoping it would help in reviving the cricketing ties.
“Mr Aziz is going and I had a meeting with him on Monday,” Shaharyar Khan said. “If his visit brings down the political temperature then I think the chances of Indo-Pak cricket series will increase.”
“Indian board wants conducive political atmosphere for cricket but our view is that cricket and politics must be kept apart,” Shaharyar Khan added.
The meeting is slated on August 23 and 24 between Indian officials and Pakistan delegates led by Sartaz Aziz, who is advisor of Pakistan’s Prime Minister.
Earlier, BCCI secretory Anurag Thakur had made it crystal clear that there would be no cricket played with Pakistan until terror attacks stop completely.
Anurag Thakur had said that national interest is the top-priority and it’s about country as a whole, not only about cricket.
“I condemn the terror attacks in Gurdaspur. Cricket and terror cannot go hand in hand,” Anurag Thakur had roared. “Pakistan needs to know that cricket can’t be played when the security and peace of our nation are affected.”
“I understand that playing sport is a different thing, but our internal security is important. If you talk about cricket with Pakistan, we must understand that life of every Indian is very important to us.”
