ISLAMABAD: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, Anurag Thakur, has said that the Indian cricket team would not play any series with Pakistan as the country has “given shelter” to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and it wants to meet Kashmiri leaders during the (now cancelled) national security advisers-level talks, said a report published on the NDTV sports website.
India has routinely accused Pakistan of providing shelter to one of India’s most wanted fugitives.
In response, Pakistan routinely denies charges that it shelters Dawood Ibrahim ever since the don became a fugitive for his alleged role in the serial bomb blasts that hit Mumbai in 1993 in apparent retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. Dawood stands convicted in absentia in India for the blasts, together with several Mumbai accomplices.
Thakur, who is also a Member of Parliament from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a strongly-worded tweet on Saturday mocked Pakistan’s desire to play cricket with India as tensions between the two countries run high.
Thakur had said last month that the series between Pakistan and India was unlikely until relations between the two countries normalised.India and Pakistan were scheduled to play a series in the UAE in December, however, with Thakur’s latest statement, the series is not expected to take place.
India have not played a bilateral Test series against Pakistan since 2007, though they did host them for two T20Is and three ODIs between December 2012 and January 2013.
I don’t see many Pakistanis crying over not playing Cricket with the Bhindians. No one cares even if we never play them again. Pakistan as a country will not be blackmailed over silly things like a meaningless ball/bat game. We will never change our stance on Kashmir. If supporting Kashmiri freedom fighters is terrorism then so be it, karlo jo karna hai!!