It was a successful tour of India says PCB Chief Shahryar Khan

It was a successful tour of India says PCB Chief Shahryar Khan: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Shahryar Khan after returning home from India on Thursday said that they were hopeful of reviving bilateral ties with Geometric neighbors India, who are arch rivals on the cricket field. Pakistan and PCB hope that if things go right the series they have planned for in December 2015 will help reset cricketing relationships between the two nations.

Lat time that India toured Pakistan was back in 2006 while Pakistan last made a trip to India in December, 2012. Apart from the two nation series, India had also travelled to Pakistan to feature in the Asia Cup in 2008.

Shahryar termed his trip to New Delhi and the meetings with the representatives of the Indian government and his counterparts at the BCCI eventful and “successful”, while also stating that Government of India was yet to clear their stand on the proposed series.

“It was a successful tour and I met (Jagmohan) Dalmiya and (Arun) Jaitley to talk about the revival of Indo-Pak series,” Khan told reporters. “Jaitley told me that he feels that the green light will be given. It’s not given yet but will be given in the next two months.” He said.

The PCB chief further said that, “When we signed the MoU, there was a different government and now there is a new government so the Indian Board has to take permission with the incumbent one.”

He also said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement on the proposal was encouraging as he depicted positive intent towards it.

“After my meetings, PM Modi has given a statement in a parliamentary party meeting that he wants to play cricket with Pakistan, which is encouraging,” said Khan, a former foreign secretary instrumental in reviving ties in 2004.

“I told Dalimya that you, as then Indian cricket chief, set aside political problems in 2004 to play a historic series in Pakistan and that paved the way for people-to-people contact as well,” he added.

The two boards of Pakistan and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2014 to play six series between 2015 and 2023 subject to clearance from the respective governments’ four out of the six were to be played in Pakistan.

The series PCB chief was in India to talk about is the one which comprises of 2 Test matches, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is, is tentatively scheduled in December-January, 2015-16 to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a neutral venue.