No decision on cricket series with Pakistan so far: Indian foreign office

In an interview with The National published yesterday, Information Minister Pervez Rashid said, “The Prime Minister [Nawaz Sharif] has given permission for Pakistan to play cricket matches with India in Sri Lanka”.

The cricket boards of both countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2014 to play a bilateral series, according to which, Pakistan were supposed to play hosts this year.

As the India-Pakistan cricket series unlikely to be held, the BCCI has not approached the Home Ministry, sources said.

The spokesman of Indian foreign office on Friday said that there has been no final decision on cricket series with Pakistan.

Meanwhile, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has said the series is tentatively slated to start on 15 December and is likely to include three one-dayers and two T20s.

“The fact remains that Pakistan is changing venues just because India does not feel like playing in the UAE”.

In India, the hashtag #nocricketwithpakistan trended on Twitter Thursday as social media users took offence to the BCCI’s green signal announcement on the anniversary of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

The ministry has received a request from Indian cricket board about the proposed cricket series with Pakistan in Sri Lnaka however no decision has been made at this so far, he added.

If both sides agree to play in Sri Lanka, the series will mark the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between the two nations. India’s current series with South Africa will not finish until December 7, with their tour of Australia beginning just over a month later, on January 12. Whenever there has been a transgression on the part of Pakistan in covert and overt manner, India has suspended cricket matches between the two countries to send out a signal.