Mumbai: BCCI president Shashank Manohar said the Indian board has enough reasons to refuse playing against Pakistan even at a neutral venue like UAE.
Manohar said he was “fed up with the statements” made by PCB chairman Shahryar Khan. “Everyday he is coming out with different statements. I have made it clear to him that Team India can play against Pakistan only in India. We have our own reasons to decline playing in UAE. We cannot reveal the reason though. As on now, we only want them to come to India for this bilateral series,” he added.
Not only the PCB, but also the officials in UAE have no clue why BCCI doesn’t want to send its team to play in UAE though the IPL matches were conducted in the Emirates last year.
Mohammed Redha Abbas, the Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) vice chairman, said: “Only the BCCI can say why they are reluctant to play here. They successfully hosted the IPL matches here and are aware about the facilities available in this country. The safety and security of the players are also known to them.”
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said the decision on Pakistan series would be decided soon. “Wait for a couple more days,” was the cryptic retort by Thakur.
Meanwhile, the two-member committee formed by the BCCI to probe “Snoopgate” by the previous regime met former secretary Sanjay Patel and treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry to delve deeper into the issue. “They (Ajay Shirke and G Gangaraju) met today (with Sanjay Patel and Anirudh Chaudhry) and sought details. They (Patel and Chaudhry) sought some time to reply with details. It’s (probe) going to take some time (to be completed),” said Thakur.
The matter about BCCI having engaged a British firm to snoop on its members for a consideration reportedly to the tune of $900,000, had come up during the November 9 AGM, following which it had set up the two-man committee of Shirke and Gangaraju to probe it.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
