India must compensate for cancelling bilateral series: PCB

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) executive committee chairman Najam Sethi asserted on Wednesday that the board has demanded financial compensation from the BCCI and the International Cricket Council (ICC) for losses incurred due to India's refusal to play the scheduled bilateral series.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the PCB had signed an MoU in 2014 under which the two countries agreed to play a total of six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.

But the increased political tension between the two countries due to prolonged violence on the border has severely affected cricketing ties as well.

BCCI President Anurag Thakur had even asked the ICC recently not to place India and Pakistan in the same group during international tournaments.

"We have mentioned it clearly to BCCI and ICC in recent meeting that either India should play cricket with Pakistan or compensate us for damages," Sethi was quoted as saying by the Dawn after a meeting of the PCB governing board.

"We have also demand compensation from ICC as the PCB is suffering financially because of non-fulfilment of the BCCI's commitment to play cricket series with Pakistan," he added.

The BCCI had consented to a limited-overs series with Pakistan in Sri Lanka in December last year and had asked the Indian government for permission.

But with the Indian government not providing its consent, the series had to be eventually cancelled.

India has not played a full bilateral Test series with Pakistan since the terror attacks im Mumbai in 2008.

--IANS

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