The Pakistan Cricket Board want to face India in the ICC Champions Trophy next year in England. The PCB has also declared that if India are not willing to play them, they should forfeit the match. The arch-rivals are scheduled to play their match on June 4 at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
However, the Board of Control for India president Anurag Thakur asked the International Cricket Council (to keep Pakistan and India separate in cricketing events, amid political tensions between the two countries.
PCB chief executive Najam Sethi, however, 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 refused to budge as well. “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.”
