Indo-Pak sports relations may remain damaged for a long time.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The Gurdaspur terror attack has a bearing on not only the peace talks between India and Pakistan but also on the cricketing ties of both countries as the Board of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) retracted from resuming any bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The talks aimed at resuming cricket ties with Pakistan was in full swing since the last few months, this, as part of mending Indo-Pak relationship – a strategy that was tried during the 2011 World Cup cricket. But the shudder caused by the Gurdaspur terror attack has instigated BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur to say “it may not be possible under such circumstances”.
When Thakur was asked the question of whether India and Pakistan can resume talks he went on to say on record that it is now completely out of question.
“Earlier also there was no such decision that the series will take place. Only the PCB has reached out to the BCCI. We were talking on those lines but when you see such attack on India time and again, the Jammu region, now Punjab, where Indians are losing their lives, as an Indian I don’t see a possibility to that,” Thakur told reporters.
Anurag Thakur, an MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh also condemned the attack that killed six people, including a Superintendent of Police. “I condemn the terrorist attacks, especially in the Gurdaspur region. If you talk about cricket with Pakistan, we must understand that life of every Indian is very important to us. As I see my responsibility as BCCI secretary, as a Parliamentarian, the life of every Indian is very important to me. It’s not only about cricket, it’s about my country.”
Thakur ascertained that in no way will the cricketing relationship between India and Pakistan improve unless the Asian counterpart takes adequate preventive measures to curb insurgency and terror attacks such as the one that took place in Gurdaspur, Punjab on Monday.
“I think, before we step onto the cricket field, it’s important to clear the issues between the two Boards and the two countries. If we don’t clear those issues, it would not be possible to enter that territory,” he said.
During the PCB president Shaharyar Khan’s visit to India, in May, both countries had agreed to play a series of matches comprising three tests, five ODIs and two T20s by the end of this year in UAE. This was part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two Boards last year.
India has not played a bilateral test series with Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The last time both countries played a bilateral ODI series was in December 2012. Leaving this, both countries played cricket only in ICC-organized events or the Asia Cup.