ICC Champions Trophy: India should play us or forfeit match, PCB tells ICC

[Abdullah719]

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.

“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.”

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1224672/icc-champions-trophy-india-play-us-forfeit-match-pcb-tells-icc/

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Good from PCB

 

[msplash9]

Fair point from PCB . Hope the match will happen

 

[sshakir411]

Time for BCCI to put their money where their mouth is.

 

[big_gamer007]

Fair enough, if we refuse to play them and we are drawn in same groups then we should forfeit..

 

[Khan12]

Time for BCCI to put their money where their mouth is.

They are shameless people, come the 4th june they will be there before us.

 

[USofA]

This is just a hollow statement. I believe the BCCI have already stated that they will play Pakistan in ICC tournaments.

 

[AlphaFighter]

Good strategy by the PCB. This way we can avoid the shame of another defeat at the hands of India. This is the strongest Indian team in history while the Pakistani team is in transition. The Indians are being stupid by not changing the overall Indo-Pak Win/Loss record in their favor.

 

[ExplicitAI]

Don't really care what's going on tbh, the match is definitely going to happen regardless of what's happening.

 

[Hasan123]

The match will happen but good step by PCB.

 

[SM1989]

Good on PCB for standing up to BCCI.

 

[PakLFC]

India will play. They won't want to give us points for free.

 

[GrandMaster]

They are shameless people, come the 4th june they will be there before us.

If there is no way out, India will play Pakistan rather than giving away free points. What's shameless in that?

 

[Suleiman]

Time and time again over the last 2 years PCB has brutally exposed younger brother BCCI every time. First their unwillingness to have the aane do II series last year in December, where they were afraid to tour UAE, and then changed the venue in the t20 world cup from Dalambula which would have helped Mohammad Amir. Now they are up to the same dirty tricks, but enough is enough.

See you in Birmingham aka mini Pakistan.

 

[Rayyman]

Time and time again over the last 2 years PCB has brutally exposed younger brother BCCI every time. First their unwillingness to have the aane do II series last year in December, where they were afraid to tour UAE, and then changed the venue in the t20 world cup from Dalambula which would have helped Mohammad Amir. Now they are up to the same dirty tricks, but enough is enough.

See you in Birmingham aka mini Pakistan.

If it's in Birmingham, then we will run through India's top order. Hope it is a green pitch.

 

[aloo paratha]

Well said. Hope the match foes happen or it'll be really annoying.

 

[Sidilicious]

If it's in Birmingham, then we will run through India's top order. Hope it is a green pitch.

Wasn't the champions trophy 2013 match also at Birmingham?

Though, if India one day side is a lot weaker than what it was in 2013. So, Pakistan does have a better chance.

 

[the middle stump]

Not sure what all the fuss is about. I might be missing something, but I don't recall any issues whatsoever when Pakistan played India in Adelaide during the most recent World Cup. Supporters from both teams seemed to respect each other and 'get along' very well. I don't know anything about Birmingham, but other posts in this thread suggest maybe it will be a hostile place for 1 of the teams?

 

[Adijazz1706]

Fair enough, it won't happen though. The Indian martyrs are not more important than the group stage points at stake.

 

[Khan12]

If there is no way out, India will play Pakistan rather than giving away free points. What's shameless in that?

They said they don't want to play us so they should put money where their mouth is and not play, which I am sure they will play us so if that is not shamefull then I wonder what is.

 

[MenInG]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...tion-of-cricket-ties/articleshow/55334232.cms

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi has said that it had asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to confirm whether it was ready to play Pakistan or not in any bilateral series or international events.

"I met the BCCI President, Anurag Thakur on the sidelines of the ICC meeting in Cape Town and asked him whether India wanted to play with Pakistan or not," PCB's head of executive committee, Sethi, told the media in Lahore.

"He didn't give a straight answer and in fact he has floated some ideas which it would not be fair to discuss at this forum now," Sethi said.

The PCB official made it clear that he had also made it clear at the ICC meeting that Pakistan would not accept any loan or grant as compensation for India not playing with Pakistan in a bilateral series since 2007.

"I told the ICC members that we had been suffering huge losses since the last nine years because India was just not ready to play with as per the bilateral calendar," he added.

"I told them that because India was not playing with us we had suffered huge losses and it had hit our development plans for the sport in Pakistan," Sethi stated.

He said that the ICC had offered to set up a committee of board members to review the existing bilateral cricket relations between Pakistan and India.

"But we said such a committee would serve no purpose and it was the BCCI which must make a clear policy statement on playing with us in either bilateral series or ICC events. Thakur didn't respond at the ICC meeting," he said.

The PCB official stated that Pakistan had made it clear to the ICC that if India didn't want to play them in ICC events including next year's Champions Trophy it should be clear about it.

"We have told the ICC that if India does not want to play us in ICC events we have no issues only that the match points should be awarded to us and the matches considered forfeited by India," he said.

Sethi said that the ICC was willing to give financial compensation to Pakistan for India refusing to play bilateral series.

"Giles Clarke will be giving a report to the ICC on how and how much the ICC can give to us but we have told them it should not be a loan or grant," he said.

Sethi said that Pakistan was already suffering as a cricket nation because of Test teams not willing to tour the country because of security concerns.


"Add to that the refusal of India to play us and we have told the ICC that we want a clear stance from the BCCI on playing with us but that has still not come from the Indian officials," he said.

A reliable source in the board said that at the ICC meeting the technical committee of the women's cricket league had been asked to reach a decision on what steps to take on India's refusal to play Pakistan in the bilateral series last October in UAE.
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"The series in UAE was important since it will decide which four top teams qualify for the next women's World Cup. The technical committee will now decide what to do whether to penalize India and award points to Pakistan," he said.

The source said that Pakistan had no problems playing the series but India had backed out saying it had not got clearance from its government to play Pakistan.

 

[Nil Dhumrojal]

India will play. Pcb no need to worry.

 

[Pak Warrior]

India will play, they just like playing these silly games with us. If it were a bilateral series I know the answer would end up being no but not in ICC events