The Pakistan Cricket Board top brass remains optimistic about hosting India for a full series later this year despite reports coming from across the border that their Indian counterparts have refused to send the players to Pakistan due to security concerns.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also ruled out the possibility of playing a series against Pakistan at any neutral venue.
However, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Zaka Ashraf, who last week toured India, to witness the recently conclude India-Pakistan series, said that there was still a lot of time left before the proposed series, likely to be held in August this year.
While speaking to media reporters on his return home, the PCB chief said that it was a wrong impression that the BCCI has refused to allow its players to play a series against Pakistan, adding that discussion would continue with the Indian cricket board in the coming months.
"It is a wrong impression that India has ruled out playing Pakistan. No decisive talks were held with them in New Delhi. I discussed certain options with them and we are hopeful that in time India will also come to Pakistan," said Ashraf on Monday.
Zaka Ashraf further said that the recent ODI series in India, which his team won 2-1, was a major breakthrough as bilateral ties between the nemeses have now been resumed, after a gap of more than five years.
"This series was very important for both countries and it is a way forward. I remain optimistic about future ties and matches," Ashraf said.
The recently concluded limited-overs series between India and Pakistan was the first bilateral series between the arch nemeses since December 2007, when the latter toured the former. The BCCI called off its team’s scheduled tour of Pakistan in 2008 due to the deadly Mumbai attacks, and the cricketing ties between the two sub-continental giants remained on hold since then. An Indo-Pak series on Pakistan soil dates back to January 2006.
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