Pakistan can’t see why India have a problem playing in UAE

The BCCI has not given a reason, though the board secretary Anurag Thakur said the Indian government would not give them permission. They have played IPL partly and in the U19 World Cup, though.

The Indian board have offered Pakistan to play in India instead of the UAE. Even that offer from president Shashank Manohar has been over the phone. Punit Paranjpe / AFP

ABU DHABI // The route to a series between India and Pakistan becomes more circuitous every passing day and it now appears that the UAE, as a venue, has become a sticking point.

Over the weekend the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has let it be known that if any series is to happen, it will be in India.

The BCCI president Shashank Manohar called his Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) counterpart Shaharyar Khan last Friday and told him they were willing to play the series, but only in India.

Shaharyar rejected that offer, insisting that the series must go ahead, as had been agreed upon in an memorandum of understanding last year, in the UAE. “No question, we can’t go to India,” he told The National.

“It will be three times running that we go there,” after tours in 2007 and 2012. “It will mean we are giving up a home series, which means a lot of money.”

The BCCI has not given a reason for avoiding the UAE, though the board secretary Anurag Thakur said the Indian government would not give them permission to play here.

That could be reference to a long-standing state policy of not allowing the India team to play at non-regular venues.

But PCB officials argue that is a selective policy at best: the UAE hosted part of the Indian Premier League in 2014; India played an ODI series with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2006; the Indian Under 19 team played in the World Cup last year as well.

Matters for now are stuck in a bureaucratic loop.

Manohar only discussed the offer over the phone, so even though the PCB have rejected the idea, they have not seen a formal proposal.

The BCCI have not gone to their own government to seek approval for the series; that, Manohar told The Hindu, will only happen once the PCB agree to tour.

It is possible, however, that the BCCI offer the PCB a substantial amount of revenue, dressed up as a participation fee, as compensation.

But one PCB official told The National that amount would have to be close to US$50 million (Dh183.6m) for the PCB to even begin considering the idea.

That figure is roughly the commercial value that the PCB has ascribed to an India home series, including broadcast revenue from Ten Sports and potential sponsorship earning.

Even then, however, complications lie in wait.

The PCB has a five-year deal with Ten Sports that includes two home series with India.

If the PCB forego one of those and tour India instead, it is unthinkable that the BCCI will allow Ten Sports to broadcast it instead of its own partner, Star.

So, although the PCB might receive financial compensation, their long-term broadcaster loses a valuable series.

All that is for much later, though.

PCB officials point out that even if they agree to tour India, it would require permission from their own government. And given tense relations between the countries and the importance this series, and the hosting of it, has assumed in wider public discourse, it cannot be said with any certainty that the Pakistan government will give approval.

With the recent spate of protests against Pakistani public figures in India, albeit restricted to Mumbai, the security concerns around such a high-profile visit will be another factor.

Expectedly in such circumstances, some niggle is already creeping into what is a new stage of the relationship between the two boards.

Manohar has taken over recently as president, but, according to The Hindu, is unhappy with the way Shaharyar has so readily spoken to the media about their conversations.

Given what happened when the PCB tried to meet Manohar in Mumbai last month, it is unlikely he is seen with great fondness either.

That has led the BCCI to approach Giles Clarke to get involved in the process.

Clarke remains a senior figure at the International Cricket Council and the head of the ICC’s Pakistan Task Force, and is scheduled to visit Pakistan later this month.

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