Awaiting government nod for Pakistan series Says BCCI to Giles Clarke

Lahore, Dec 16: Former England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke has been told by the Indian cricket board authorities they are waiting for the government approval for a series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka.

Giles has played the role of a facilitator for the resumption of India-Pakistan cricketing ties, holding meetings in Dubai with the boards' officials recently.

But he too has received a reply similar to what was given to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when he spoke to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashnak Manohar. The Indian board chief told him that the Indian government had not yet given its go-ahead for the series, reports dawn.com on Wednesday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already given the green light to the PCB to host the series in Sri Lanka.

Two tentative dates for the series, comprising three One-day Internationals and two T20 matches, have been put forward by the PCB: Dec 15-Jan 4 and Dec 19-Jan 4.

The PCB hasn't officially announced Clarke's reply to its chief Shaharyar Khan, the report added.

Shaharyar Khan on Monday announced he will wait for a few more days for a final decision on the series after receiving a call from Clarke, who reassured that he will speak to the BCCI again.

The two boards signed an MoU last year in which they agreed Pakistan will host India four times while India will host their arch-rivals twice in the next eight years.

The PCB isn't keen to officially announce the cancellation of the series since it believes such a move can have an adverse impact on their next scheduled series with India in 2017.

Agency