In what can be termed as jolting news to cricket fans, the much anticipated India-Pakistan cricket series, is on the verge of being rejected by the Indian government. The news comes in after weeks of speculation about the ultimate outcome of the series. The series was scheduled in Sri Lanka, but the Indian government seems to have rejected even that option.
“The government has given us an indication that public sentiment at the moment is against Pakistan, which is involved in anti-India activities. Also, there are only a few days left for the proposed series to start in the latter half of December. If the government wanted us to play, we would have got clearance a long time ago. So, I don’t think this series is happening,” a BCCI official told HT.
Political issues have certainly dented the much-loved rivalry, and any chance of the bilateral series taking place seem unlikely. Earlier, the PCB had reported that they were planning a domestic T20 tournament as a backup for the bilateral series.
“We play Pakistan in the World Cup. We played them in the 2015 World Cup, we’ll play them next year in the Asia Cup. Then we’ll again play them in the month of March in World T20. So when you play them in a multinational tournament in world events, then what stops you from playing them in a bilateral series. So that’s the question we have to answer,” Anurag Thakur, the BCCI secretary, told the Indian Express.