The BCCI is not at all amused by the contradictory positions taken by PCB chairman Shahryar Khan and Najam Sethi, member, Board of Governors, PCB.
An agency report from Karachi (Nov. 13) has quoted Sethi as saying that he would advise them (the PCB Board of Governors) against sending the national team to India for the planned bilateral series in December. Perhaps it’s come to a situation wherein who should take the credit for reviving the series.
“If we get a formal proposal suggesting that the series be played in India, I would categorically reject it and advise the board of governors (to meet on Nov. 17) to not accept any such offers. I think it is time the BCCI honoured the agreement signed between the two countries last year,” said Sethi, adding that Pakistan is the host for the series in December and it has already picked UAE as a neutral venue. Sethi was the PCB Chairman when the MoU for 2015-23 was signed involving six bilateral series with the PCB estimated to earn $450 million.
Sethi further told the agency: “The situation is that we went to India in 2007 and they were supposed to make a return trip. But we again sent our team to India in 2012 and didn’t get a single penny from the Indian board. I don’t know why we should play in India because under the MoU we are supposed to play in UAE. I would say Pakistan shouldn’t repeat the mistake of playing its home series in India.”
BCCI officials monitoring the meeting (that eventually did not take place in Mumbai on Oct. 19 after Shiv Sainiks barged into the BCCI office) between BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and the PCB representatives (Shahryar Khan and Sethi) said that there was a ‘covert’ message from the visitors that they would like to meet Manohar separately; or another senior official separately before meeting Manohar.
