PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: The top officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have made it clear that they want to play against India in the ICC Champions Trophy next year and if the neighbouring country is not willing to play the scheduled match then they should forfeit the match.
Both the arch-rivals are scheduled to play their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 match on June 4 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
But the eagerly-awaited battle became doubtful after BCCI president Anurag Thakur asked the ICC to keep Pakistan and India separate in ICC events, amid political tensions between the two countries.
The PCB chief executive Najam Sethi who attended the ICC meeting in Cape Town last month revealed he refused to accept ICC’s proposal to form a committee to resolve the matter.
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“I made it clear that either they will have to play us or forfeit the match,” Sethi told a press conference on Tuesday.
"There is no other way. I also raised the matter to give PCB compensation for the losses the board will suffer due to India’s refusal to play Pakistan.”
The PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said there was no question of finding a middle ground.
“The ICC rules are already there. England had to forfeit a World Cup (2003) match after they refused to travel to Zimbabwe due to political tensions," he recalled.
"I don’t think there is a need of forming a committee as the rules are clear,” said the PCB chairman. “The Birmingham match has already been sold out. Pakistan-India game is the most lucrative match and points should go to the team which is ready to play.”
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