Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal call for resumption of cricketing ties between India and Pakistan

Pakistan cricketers have come out asking for resumption of bilateral ties with India despite the escalating of tensions between the two nations following an attack last week which saw 18 Indian soldiers killed by heavily armed militants on an army base in Uri, which is situated in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal have called for a resumption of cricketing actions between the arch-rivals, claiming that the sport has helped in reducing tension and played a big role in normalizing relations in the past.

"In the past also having cricket series helped reduce tensions and I firmly believe there should be cricket between the two countries", Ajmal was quoted as saying by Firstpost.

However, Anurag Thakur, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ruled out resumption of cricketing ties between the arch-rivals, claiming that no cricket will be played between the two countries till the time Pakistan sponsors terrorism.

The BCCI are also set to request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to not club India and Pakistan in the same group of the 2017 Champions Trophy so as to ensure that the arch-rivals do not face each other.

Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi has come out in support of resumption of cricket between the two nations, taking too twitter to push for a peaceful resolution.

India and Pakistan are currently drawn in Group B for the Champions Trophy 2017 and are scheduled to face-off at Edgbaston on 4 June.