Pakistan news

PCB pushes for series against India

ESPNcricinfo staff

April 16, 2011

The Pakistan board has said they have initiated talks with the BCCI over resuming cricketing relations between India and Pakistan, though no decision has yet been taken on when and where to play or the number of matches.

"There has been contact with the BCCI with regards to restarting bilateral contests," Subhan Ahmed, chief operating officer of the PCB, told ESPNcricinfo. "We sent them an email and they replied but as they are busy with the IPL currently, talks will begin after the IPL is over."

There are no details yet of when and what form the contests will take but they are likely to be a short, bilateral ODI series. "There will be three stages to these talks," Subhan said. "Firstly, the boards will decide when we can actually play. Both sides are very busy with FTP requirements in the near future so finding a window will be the first thing. Then we'll talk about the matches themselves and what kind they will be, a three match ODI series or whatever. Finally we will discuss the venue for the series."

The IPL runs till the end of May and India have three overseas tours in the eight months that follow, including high-profile series in England and Australia. India also have a full series home-and-away against West Indies, the Champions League Twenty20 and a home one-day series against England.

India has suspended sporting ties with Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Since then, India and Pakistan have faced each other only three times, in ODIs at multi-lateral tournaments. The last of those meetings was the World Cup semi-final last month in Mohali, which was attended by the prime ministers of both countries.

After the Mohali match, and the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan's politicians, India's foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said the government welcomed more sporting contact between the two countries. The BCCI has maintained that it has not received any communication from the government over resuming cricketing ties with Pakistan.

While the PCB would like to hold the bilateral cricket series at home, security concerns are likely to rule that out, with the matches likely to be held in India or a neutral country.

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