PCB signed proper contract with India, not an MoU: Shaharyar

Karachi [Pakistan], May 9 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has revealed that a proper contract was signed with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2014, and not just a MoU to revive bilateral ties between the two sides. Last week, the PCB had sent a legal notice to its Indian counterpart for failing to honour the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two cricket boards in 2014. Shaharyar further stated that they received a reply from the BCCI about their notice for not fulfilling the contract, because of which the PCB suffered huge financial losses. "The BCCI's reply has two objections. Firstly, there is no term is included in the contract under which the word of government's permission is mentioned as necessary. Secondly, it was not an MoU but a contract as India sought PCB's support for the Big Three formula, from which it earned huge revenue as a member of Big Three," the Dawn quoted Shaharyar as saying. The PCB chief also noted that they would have benefitted had they played a bilateral series against their arch-rivals, the failure of which had caused them massive losses and claiming for compensation. "Our benefit was only if the bilateral series would have started, which could not be happened, causing us massive losses. Our legal team has prepared the case on strong footings and now we will again send a response to the BCCI's letter before moving to the ICC dispute resolve committee," he said. Shaharyar further insisted that their case is strong and, therefore, they would go at the ICC level if needed to seek justice. "Let me clear that the PCB's case is strong and we will go to the last stage to win at the ICC level since it is our right to demand justice," he added. The 83-year-old also put the onus on the Indian government for creating hurdles in the way of resumption of bilateral cricket between the two sides. "It is not our [government] but the Indian government which is creating hurdles in the way of resumption of bilateral cricket and as that term related to the government's permission is not included in the contract, so, it is not our responsibility to get permission from the Indian government," he said. According to the 2014 agreement, India were scheduled to play six series against Pakistan, four of them were going to be Pakistan's home series. While the BCCI has repeatedly snubbed Pakistan's request for resumption of ties, the PCB wants the Indian cricket board to honour its commitment of six series between 2015-2023 under the MoU signed, which is subjected to clearance from the Government of India. Despite not playing a full-fledged bilateral series against Pakistan since the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, the arch-rivals have played each other a number of times in the ICC events, with the most recent coming at the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup. Although, Pakistan toured India for a short series in December 2012. (ANI)