The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan is an optimistic man and still believes that a bilateral series against India is possible even after National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz opined that under recent situation no cricket was possible with the neighbours.
“Yes that’s true. Things don’t look too well,” said Shaharyar, while talking to a local media, when asked if he sees any possibility of the aforementioned series after Sartaj’s statement.
“The situation is certainly bleak but I’m not entirely hopeless. There is a slim hope considering that BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has told us that they will discuss the issue on the sidelines of the ICC meetings in Dubai.”
Shahryar believes that they are still hanging in between and a definitive yes or no will help them establish future plans.
“We have told them (India) that we need a definitive answer about the series. We would be meeting in Dubai next week and I can say that we should know once and for all whether the series is going ahead or not by the time the ICC (International Cricket Council) meetings conclude in Dubai,” said Shaharyar.
“We have signed a MoU for the series and it is the moral and legal obligation of both parties to fulfill the commitment. We are ready and hope that the Indians are willing too.”
The ICC will gather on October 12 and 13 at the body’s headquarters for the final round of meetings of 2015 and Shahryar is planning to demand a final answer on the sidelines of these meetings.
Earlier, in a statement, Shahryar said that if India backs out of the series then Pakistan can opt to boycott the nation in both the ICC and Asian Cricket Council events. In their response, Indian officials said that ICC will deal with Pakistan if they boycott them.
