PCB boss meets Sharad Pawar; will talk to BCCI officials during 4th ODI in Mohali.
Ejaz Butt is in India but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not too amused. For the record, no BCCI official is willing to make a comment about the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman’s visit.
Butt and his wife reportedly checked into a hotel in New Delhi on Thursday. He is expected to watch the third ODI at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Saturday.
As per information obtained, neither BCCI president Shashank Manohar nor secretary N Srinivasan will visit New Delhi on Saturday but it appears that the two top BCCI officials will meet Butt during the fourth one-dayer in Chandigarh. The PCB boss is scheduled to visit the city where a meeting of the BCCI office bearers is expected to take place. Both Manohar and Srinivasan should be present at the meeting.
Butt could not be reached for comment but it is reliably learnt that he has spoken to former BCCI president Sharad Pawar on the possibility of India and Pakistan playing at a neutral venue. On Friday, he met another influential BCCI official, who is close to the powers that be of the UPA government.
Sources say Butt has offered to host India in any country that the BCCI is comfortable with. Among the names mentioned are England and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi).
Meanwhile, a Board official said a discussion on Butt’s proposal could be held at the office-bearers’ meeting in Mohali. However, the final decision will be at the government level. “We can’t take a decision. We will be guided by the government,” a BCCI official said.
Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan have been on hold following the Mumbai attacks. Post 26/11, India had cancelled a scheduled tour of Pakistan. It is also learnt that New Delhi’s tough stance towards Pakistan has softened somewhat.
The response from the Indian side to Butt’s request may not be negative. Government sources indicate that India may no longer be averse to playing Pakistan at a neutral venue. The government has so far not taken a call on this, but considering the mood at the moment, it may not scuttle the games if the BCCI insists.
A senior government official explained, “We have been interacting with Pakistan at various levels. There has never been a cessation of interaction, even after the Mumbai attacks. We are willing to stretch a hand of friendship to Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself said so, but first Islamabad must take action again anti-India groups.’’
—Inputs from Seema Guha in New Delhi
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