Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Anurag Thakur said on Friday that there was no question of any cricketing ties with Pakistan following the terror attack in Uri on September 18.
On the sidelines of the BJP National Council meet under way here, Mr. Thakur told The Hindu : “There are no Tests or bilateral matches scheduled for this year with Pakistan, and the question of any such matches does not arise today.”
Mr. Thakur made no bones about the fact that his hard positioning on resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan, a real money-spinner for cricket boards in both countries, was due to the attack in Uri.
“Every Indian wants the Indian government to expose Pakistan at the international level,” he said. “We have defeated Pakistan in three wars and in all the world cups played so far. We can still maul Pakistan, but it is important to first isolate it internationally.”
He said there was a growing understanding of India’s position in the United States and other countries. “In my recent tour of the United States, I have seen a shift in the thinking of Senators and Congressmen who have very openly raised the issue of terrorism as a global threat today. “The world is facing a global challenge in terms of trade and terrorism. In the last financial year the world has suffered close to $60 billion losses and India has suffered terrorism for the last three decades. The world is facing it now. It will have a better understanding of what India has gone through in the last so many years,” he said.
