Sethi to BCCI: No yes, no no, and that’s not acceptable

Thepakistancricketboard(pcb)hasthreatened legal action against its Indian counterpart for not adhering to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the two boards in 2014 that promised six series in nineyears,starting2015.accordingtothepcb, the BCCI has defaulted twice in the last two years in terms of giving Pakistan a home series.sostaringatalossinexcessof$150million, the PCB seeks monetary compensation through the legal route. In an interview with The Indian Express, PCB’S executive committee head Najam Sethi clears the standpoint of his board members. Excerpts:

Why are you considering legal action?

The board (following its meeting in Karachi) has advised us to seek legal option. This is the only option (left).

Where do you intend to raise the matter, in which court?

Wewouldseektheadviceofourlegaloffice about where the matter should be persuaded.

The BCCI has maintained that a bilateral series between India and Pakistan is not possible unless there’s a thaw in border tensions. Government’s approval is required for this series... That’s not relevant. There’s no mention of any such thing in the contract. The contract is a commercial contract; it has nothing to do with the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two countries are not in a state of war.

How will you react if India stops playing against Pakistan even in ICC events following this legal threat?

India has to play Pakistan in an ICC event. If Indiadoesn’tplaypakistan,thenwewouldask for compensation for our commercial share (from the matches). India-pakistan matches providehugecommercialrevenues(totheicc coffers); and out of that kitty goes money to all the countries. So we have a right to make a claim there as well.

Do you think dialogue between the two cricket boards is no longer an option?

Well, every time we met the BCCI people, we spoke about the resumption (of bilateral series). We didn’t get a satisfactory answer. They invited us to Mumbai (for a proposed meeting between then BCCI president Shashank Manohar and the PCB delegates including Pakistan board chairman Shahryar Khan in October 2015). We went there and they didn’t meet us. They didn’t even show the courtesy to explain why they didn’t meet us and what their position was. That was despite the fact that in Dubai, in the presence of Giles Clarke (former ECB president and current ICC finance and commercial affairs committee chairman),therewasacommitmenttoatleast giveusananswer.sobasicallyitmeans,noyes, no no, and that’s not acceptable.

When did the Dubai meeting take place?

Ithappenedaheadofourmumbaivisit.the meeting happened between then BCCI president, us and Giles Clarke. It was decided that if the bilateral series was not restored, they would give us an answer. That is why we went to Mumbai after that, to pursue them.

There’s a chance that the PCB might suffer for its animosity towards the most powerful cricket board in the world. Do you agree?

We have to pursue all our options.

Over the past few months did you have any interaction with BCCI president Anurag Thakur or any other Indian board office-bearer?

Absolutely. I personally met Mr Thakur in Cape Town, South Africa, about three months ago (during the ICC Board meeting). He heard what I had to say but didn’t have a response. Then, I raised all these issues at the ICC meeting. You know that time the women’s matches (Pakistan were due to host three ODIS in the UAE) were coming up, between India and Pakistan. And there was a suggestion there that they would consider how to allot the points if the matches were not played.

So I said that wasn’t acceptable to me. The simple thing; there was no question of discussing this. The record shows that if you don’t play, the party that doesn’t play loses the match. There was no question of points allocation. All the points would come to us. And eventually they had to take that decision. The ICC awarded the matches to us and gave all the points to us. So that position we will maintain now.

When you approached Thakur about the resumption of bilateral series, did he have any specific answer?

No. No specific answer.

Did you also put forward the proposal of having the series in any country that suited India?

Yes, absolutely. We said, ‘if you don’t want to play in Dubai, no problems. Tell us where you want to play, except that we will not play in India. When you are not prepared to play in Pakistan, we will not play in India’. The reason is that twice earlier (India hosted the last bilateral series between the two countries in 2012-13), Pakistan went to India despite the fact they (BCCI) were opposed to coming to Pakistan or play us in a third country. So we were clear, unless you play us first and give us a home series, we are not going to India.

Will you ask for monetary compensation?

We have an agreement and the ICC is a party to that. It has been agreed upon during (thestructuringof)theicc’sbigthreeformula, undercertaintermsandconditions.soourposition is that the ICC is not just a witness to it but also a guarantor of it. We have budgeted these things in our future development plan. We are hurt by this (BCCI’S snub) and will seek compensation.

What did you plan based on the revenue from the India-pakistan series?

We planned our cricket and infrastructure development (assuming that) the Indiapakistan series will contribute a large chunk (of the revenue). We budgeted all that for the next five or six years. Now twice they (BCCI) haven’t done that (didn’t play series). That is why we waited for the second default, and there have been two defaults and there’s no explanation.

How much do you intend to seek?

These issues are to be taken (by the legal office). We can’t be specific about this. We are now seeking legal advice about how to proceed further.

Does your proposed action have a finality to it?

Look, the lawyers will tell us what to do. The board has told us to seek legal advice and how to proceed legally. So now we will consultlawyersandthenwillproceed.butthefact is that we are moving one step forward in terms of legal redressal. At a personal level, I want to reiterate I personally have very good relations with Thakur and Manohar.

PCB’S executive committee head Najam Sethi .