Ready to play in India despite security threats, insists PCB

Karachi [Pakistan], May 11 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has insisted that despite security threats, they are ready to send their cricket team to play a series in India. PCB chairman Shahryar Khan said on Thursday alleged that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not ready to let the Indian team play against Pakistan even in India. "We are ready to play in India, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India is not ready to let the Indian team play against us even in their own country," Dawn quoted Khan as saying. He maintained that even the International Cricket Council (ICC) accepts that a series between the two arch rivals is the most important series in the cricketing world as it generates "the most" revenue. "A series between Pakistan and India generates the most revenue, even the ICC accepts that," Khan said. "We will keep our programmes as they are, but not playing a series against India does hurt our revenue generation," he added. 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. 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, subject to clearance from the Government of India. "Nowhere in the contract that we signed with BCCI does it say that playing against Pakistan is subject to their government's permission," Khan said. 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)