Off The Field

India-Pakistan Bilateral Cricket Needs Approval From Prime Ministers Of Both Countries, Says Sourav Ganguly

Written by Sumit Seth

Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president-elect, on Thursday spoke on the possibility of the resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral ties, saying the idea needs an approval from Prime Minister of both the countries.

“You have to ask that question to Modi ji and the Pakistan Prime Minister,” Sourav Ganguly said during a media briefing in Kolkata.

“Of course we have (to take permission), because international exposure (tours) is all through governments. So we don’t have an answer to that question,” he added.

The two countries last featured in a bilateral series in 2012, when India hosted Pakistan for a limited-overs series comprising two T20 Internationals and three One-day Internationals. Ganguly had led India on the historic tour of Pakistan in 2004, the first bilateral series since the Kargil war in 1999 and India’s first visit to Pakistan since 1989. In the wake of the February 14 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, the BCCI, in what seemed to be a reference to Pakistan, had asked the ICC “to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates”.

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Sumit Seth