ICC demands answers from host broadcaster before confirming dates for Pakistan-England series

England’s away series against Pakistan next winter hangs in the balance as the International Cricket Council is still waiting for a satisfactory explanation from host broadcaster, Ten Sports, over its involvement in cricket’s so-called rebel movement.

Last month, the ICC began an investigation into the registration of companies and website domains by Indian conglomerate Essel, of which Ten Sports is a subsidiary, according to The Guardian.

As news of Essel, the group behind the now inoperative Indian Cricket League, registering companies with names that appear to be rival national cricket boards, sparked fears of a future split in world cricket, ICC launched an urgent investigation into the matter.

The registration of website domain names, including worldcricketcouncil.co.in, by an employee of the broadcaster Ten Sports, which is a subsidiary of the Essel-owned Zee Entertainment Enterprises raised concerns.

Essel, the company behind the now-defunct Indian Cricket League, went on record this week to deny the involvement of Ten Sports in the controversy, despite the name and email address of an IT manager at the television company, Deepak Srivastava, being listed on the documentation for website domains that include “associations” for all 10 full member nations of the ICC.

The controversy comes at a time when England are to confirm the dates for their trip to the United Arab Emirates where they are scheduled to face Pakistan in October and November.

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The two countries are due to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20.

While the Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board have agreed on a fixture schedule, there will not be public confirmation of the tour till Ten Sports explains its actions to the ICC investigation led by outgoing ECB chairman Giles Clarke.