PCB chief Shaharyar Khan blames India for lack of progress on resuming cricketing ties

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has revealed that it is India and not Pakistan that is holding back progress on resumption of cricketing ties between the two nations. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had suspended cricketing ties with Pakistan following terror attacks in India which were blamed on extremists in Pakistan.

Khan is hoping that improving political atmosphere could lead to improvement in cricket relations between the two countries as well.

"The PCB signed an agreement in which it agreed to the idea of the Big Three's influence on world cricket in 2014 with the clear understanding that India will play a total of six series with us over a period of eight years."

"These series would have been played in India or a mutually agreed venue in the third country. The BCCI told us that they needed permission from the Indian government for these series and the PCB agreed to wait for that but the permission never came through."

The PCB were desperate for the series to take place, even agreeing on playing in Sri Lanka in December only for their Indian counterparts to cancel due to refusal of permission from the government.

Khan went on to state how Pakistan travelled to India during the 2016 ICC T20 World Series despite the pressure and opposition they faced on all fronts. This, he said, showed their willingness to participate in tournaments with their arch-rivals, and felt that it was his Indian counterparts who are to blame in the suspension of Indo-Pak ties.

"The Pakistan government has never created any hurdles to this series and even at the time of the ICC World T20 when all sorts of threats were being made, Pakistan still participated in the tournament. It is the Indian government which is holding back progress on the series," he further added.