PCB, BCCI chief to discuss India tour

By IANS,

New Delhi : Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) supremo Ijaz Butt will meet Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar in Colombo Friday to discuss the troubled India-Pakistan series scheduled in Jan-Feb.


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Both the board chiefs will meet on the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting.

The relations between the two neighbours have soured after the Mumbai attacks and the the tour, which has been under cloud because of security apprehensions for quite some time, is now under serious doubts.

Saleem Altaf, the PCB’s chief operating officer, though said both boards will continue to work towards making the tour possible.

“The series is very important for both Pakistan and India,” said Altaf, a former Pakistan Test cricketer.

“In the current circumstances, a final decision (on the series) will be taken by the two governments but we will continue working for the successful hosting of the series at our end.”

Butt will leave for Colombo Thursday for the ACC meeting where he is to be officially announced as the ACC President. The post was left vacant after former ACC chief Nasim Ashraf resigned as PCB chairman in August.

Butt is also likely to discuss the issue of the 2011 World Cup with top cricket officials from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Pakistan is to co-host the quadrennial spectacle along with the three Asian nations.

However, questions have been raised in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai whether the tournament will remain in the sub-continent with reports coming from Australia suggesting that the event might be relocated Down Under.

International Cricket Council (ICC), though, has denied the possibility of switching the World Cup venues.

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