Senior official of the Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Rajiv Shukla has recommended the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) work towards developing a safe venue at home instead of continuing to play its “home” series in UAE.
Shukla, who is also Chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), said Pakistan would ‘suffer’ if it d should develop safe venues instead of approving to play in UAE.
“If Pakistan continues to play in UAE its cricket will slowly suffer. Lahore can easily be made into a safe venue,” Shukla said while talking to Geo News.
“If PCB makes Lahore a safe venue by constructing a team hotel near it and by providing adequate security than India will have no objection to playing in Lahore,” he said.
But Shukla then elucidated that India would be ready to play in Lahore if Pakistan gave the ICC satisfactory security guarantee and other member boards also had no objection to playing there.
“If Lahore is made a safe venue then everyone will come and play there,” said Shukla.
Shukla admitted there was a MoU that the two boards signed last year but noted it was done when the leadership of the ICC and BCCI was different.
“Now our current President wants Pakistan and India to play against each other but in each other’s countries,” he added.
“We are saying this time come and play in India we are ready to compensate for the home series losses we will give bigger participation fees and when things improve in Pakistan we will go there and play one or two series. We have no issues,” he said.
Shukla insisted that Pakistan should be relaxed about the security concern of playing in India in December as the hosts would provide ample security and will also compensate the PCB well.
“I don’t think this is a big issue why make an ego issue of it and insist on playing in Dubai only,” he stated.
India’s reservations to play in the Emirates is. however, surprising considering that a part of the 2014 IPL season was played there.
When reminded that other teams had no objections to play in Dubai or at other venues in UAE, Shukla said the BCCI had its own policies.
“We have our own policy. We don’t care about what other countries do and what their policy is,” he said.
“We want resumption of cricket ties with Pakistan,” added Shukla insisting that when the PCB delegation visited Mumbai, the Shiv Sena activists had not ‘bothered’ them.
“They came to the Wankhede stadium and spoke to the BCCI President and they raised slogans but they didn’t bother the PCB officials.”
Shukla maintained that the PCB and Pakistan government should sit together and make Lahore a safe venue and invite teams to play there.
“If one incident happened does it mean there should be no cricket in Pakistan,” he said referring to the militants attack on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009 after which top Test teams have refused to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.
“I would say build on the success of the tour by Zimbabwe to Lahore,” he added.
