BCCI unsure of playing Pakistan in the ICC Test league

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is exploring ways to avoid playing Pakistan in the ICC Test league which was approved last month. The political tension between the two countries hasn’t allowed the cricketers to play the bilateral series for so many years now. Moreover, BCCI had signed a MoU with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) a couple of years ago to play six bilateral series from 2015 to 2023.

ICC Test league will see top nine teams playing six series over the period of two years, three home and three away. Also, a minimum of two Tests should be played in the series and a maximum of five after which the top two teams would lock horns which will be called as World Test League Championship Final. Similarly, 12 teams will play against each other in the ODI league. India has to play Pakistan in both the formats according to the structure of the league but nobody is sure as of now if that will actually happen.

It is not possible to play each team

The acting secretary of BCCI Amitabh Choudhary cleared that the board will have to sort out the issues before taking any call on the matter and also opined that it is not possible to play against each team in the league. “In any world competition or championship, if say 20 teams play, it is not possible to play each team against each other. The problem in not having a series between India and Pakistan is something which affects international cricket to a large extent,” he said.

“So nothing can really be planned out factoring the consequences on that situation. That’s being looked after. As I said, it is not necessary to play each and every team in a championship,” he added. The treasurer of BCCI had shot off a letter to him and asked to share the FTP plans before the scheduled SGM on December 1. Chaudhary also cleared that everybody is in the loop when it comes to FTP of the Men in Blue.

“Record my statement nobody is in the dark, all members of the Board will be sent notice of the SGM along with relevant papers on each of the agenda points. As far as writing letter is concerned, it’s Constitution of India that has given rights to everyone to express. About not being in the loop, it’s not a fact. Papers can’t be circulated in a vacuum once the agenda is specified, it will be done when the time is right,” he concluded.