BCCI secretary hopeful of Pak-India match in Dharamsala

Thakur said that he expected the match to take place as scheduled despite state government refusing to host the game

Following a meeting with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur said on Thursday that he was hopeful of the Himachal Pradesh government giving the go-ahead for the World T20 encounter between Pakistan and India.

Thakur said that he expected the match to take place as scheduled despite the state government refusing to host the game.

“I am very hopeful [of the match taking place]. The meeting [with chief minister on Wednesday] was held in a very positive atmosphere," he said.

"The government will also try and speak to those [families and few others] who have raised concerns. I am very hopeful of a positive outcome. The government have to announce that the match is on. From the BCCI’s side, the match is on.”

CM Singh had initially expressed inability to provide security for the World T20 clash in the wake of objections raised by the families of martyrs and ex-servicemen, who consider hosting Pakistan as an 'insult' to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Pathankot airbase terror attack in January earlier this year.

Thakur, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, said it was decided that any bilateral series match between Pakistan and India would not be held in Dharamsala, with the World T20 encounter being an exception as the country’s image was at stake.

“It was decided [in the meeting] that in case of a bilateral series between Pakistan and India, no matches should be held in Dharamsala," said Thakur.

"But the venues for the World T20 were decided a year ago and to organise the match elsewhere now is almost impossible. So we [BCCI] and the state government are making our best efforts to sort out the issue at the earliest. Bilateral series is a different ball game. But this is a world event and India has the honour to host the event. We are not co-hosting with any other country. India is the sole host and onus is on us to make it a successful event."

When asked about objections raised by families of martyrs in the Pathankot attack, Thakur said that the BCCI has enormous respect for Indian soldiers who were killed in the assault, but they cannot politicize a sporting event.

“We all condemn the Pathankot attack. But at the same time, we can’t bring politics to sports,” he said.

“We have the utmost respect for our martyred soldiers and their families but some of the people [mainly politicians] who are objecting to the game are same people who let Pakistan play in Dharamsala post Kargil War.”

He further added that the BCCI did not have a Plan B if the match is not allowed to take place by the state government.

“There is no Plan B," he revealed.

"It is not easy to make changes at the last moment.”

Thakur also said that the chief minister assured him that there are enough security personnel for the Pakistan-India match.

“I asked the chief minister that if there is a shortage of security personnel in Himachal Pradesh, you can also take the help of central government. But he has assured that the state has enough policemen to provide security,” he added.

This article originally appeared in The Hindu