The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday asked the International Cricket Council not to put India and Pakistan in the same group pool during multi-nation tournaments, PTI reported. The Board made its decision on the sidelines of a Special General Meeting, which was adjourned because of technical reasons.

BCCI President Anurag Thakur said the cricketing body made the decision “in view of the public sentiment in the country” with respect to the deterioration of relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. Thakur said the BCCI was also “keeping in mind” the government’s move to “isolate Pakistan”. However, he said the two countries would have to play each other if they reached the semi-finals of a tournament. The next such tournament will be the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be hosted by the United Kingdom next year.

The development comes just a day after the Indian Army announced that it had carried out surgical strikes on militant camps along the Line of Control. Last week, Thakur had said that India would not resume bilateral cricket tournaments with Pakistan because of the militant attack on an Indian Army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, on September 18. He had called Pakistan a “sponsor of terrorism” and said there was “no question of playing cricket with such a nation”.