Sena protest to
SECURITY
MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena protests which derailed talks between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in Mumbai on Monday could have an impact on the World Twenty20 scheduled to be held in India in February.
International Cricket Council (ICC) president Zaheer Abbas, also a former Pakistan captain, said: “Pakistan and India cricket authorities must work it out; otherwise, I fear the Pakistan players could also refuse to tour India for the World T20, citing security concerns. I don’t know what the environment will be when the World T20 is held in India but if this situation persists, obviously there will be extra pressure on our players.”
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and chief executive Najam Sethi were in the city on the invitation of board President Shashank Manohar to discuss the possibility of holding a bilateral series in December as per a MoU signed between the boards.
In the past few months, Khan has been batting aggressively for the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries. The PCB chairman had only recently threatened to boycott India in ICC events if the Indian board backed out of the series.
“Nothing is final or decided as yet but if the Indian board officially backs out of the series, then we have the option of boycotting all matches against them in ICC and Asian Cricket Council events as well,” Khan was quoted as saying.
The meeting scheduled at the BCCI headquarters in the morning was cancelled after Sena activists stormed into Manohar’s office barely an hour before its scheduled start, demanding that the talks be called-off.
It was speculated that the meeting would be moved to New Delhi on Tuesday. However, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur clarified that official talks had been cancelled. ZAHEER ABBAS, ICC president
While Thakur said “In Delhi, there is no formal meeting with him”, Khan has flown to New Delhi and is likely to meet officials from the BCCI and the government.
In the lead up to the talks, there was speculation that the two countries could play in a bilateral series or take part in a tri-series with Bangladesh as the third team. Thakur denied there were any plans for a tri-series.
Former Pakistan players Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar have decided not to commentate for the last ODI between India and South Africa to be held in Mumbai on October 25.
Pakistan and India cricket authorities must work it out; otherwise, I fear the Pakistan players could also refuse to tour India for the World T20, citing security concerns I don’t know what the environment will be when the World T20 is held in India but if this situation persists, obviously there will be extra pressure on our players
ABBAS, also a former Pak captain