By IANS
Mumbai : Indian cricket board president Sharad Pawar said Monday that its team would not be able to tour Pakistan for three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) next month because the players would be too tired after the Australian tour to play.
“The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) in normal circumstances would have readily agreed to play these matches and help the cause of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),” Pawar said.
“However, our players currently in Australia would be tired and exhausted after a long tour lasting almost three months and would need a break of at least 10 days before they prepare for the three-Test series against South Africa at home,” he said in a statement.
Pawar said the BCCI, therefore, has conveyed its inability to undertake the short tour.
The BCCI had received a request from the PCB after Australia decided to shorten their upcoming, yet-to-be-confirmed tour of Pakistan due to violence following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December.
Australia will send a recce team to Pakistan to assess the situation following the general election this month.