Sports Minister Anurag Thakur has said the BCCI long ago decided that there won’t be any bilateral cricket with Pakistan till they stop cross border terrorism and infiltration in India.
The bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan have been suspended for years due to the heightened diplomatic tensions between the two neighbours with the two teams only playing matches at the ICC and continental events.
“As far as sports is concerned, BCCI had long before decided that bilateral matches with Pakistan won’t be held till they stop infiltration and cross-border terrorism. I think this is the sentiment of every common citizen of this country,” Anurag Thakur, a former BCCI president, said on Friday.
The cricket ties between India and Pakistan are in focus again after an Army Colonel, a Major and a Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police were killed during a gunfight with militants recently.
The Indian men’s cricket team is currently in Sri Lanka where they are taking part in the Asia Cup 2023. They have faced Pakistan twice in the ongoing tournament.
The Asia Cup 2023 was originally slated to be held entirely in Pakistan but BCCI said it cannot send its team citing denial of permission from the Indian government.
In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened to boycott the 2023 ODI World Cup which is scheduled to be held in India.
However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) eventually arrived at a hybrid model according to which few matches were to be played in Pakistan while the remaining will take place in Sri Lanka.