Shiv Sena storm BCCI office in Mumbai over cricketing ties with Pakistan

Shiv Sena storm BCCI office in Mumbai over cricketing ties with Pakistan: The Shiv Sena on Monday tricked a mayhem when they stormed into the office of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), amid reports that the Indian cricket board chief Shashank Manohar is having a meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board President Shahryar Khan.

The chief of the PCB was reportedly in Mumbai to discuss the future bilateral cricket series between the two arch rivals, and the Shiv Sena stormed into the BCCI office and shouted slogans. The Shiv Sainiks — who are the party members — were taken away by the police after a brief period during which they shouted slogans against the cricket relations between the two cricketing powerhouses.

The Press Trust of India reported on Sunday that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan and head of the PCB’s executive committee Najam Sethi had left for India in a bid to convince the BCCI to confirm the bilateral series in December.

Khan and Sethi are expected to meet with the new BCCI President Shashank Manohar and Secretary Anurag Thakur along with other government officials in New Delhi. “The trip is being made on the invitation of Shashank Manohar who took over as the new Indian cricket chief,” a official in the PCB said.

Khan also had a one-on-one with Anurag Thakur during the ICC meeting in Dubai.

Thakur had assured him a final decision could be taken later this month and conveyed Manohar’s invitation to visit India to Shaharyar. A reliable source in the PCB said Khan and Sethi had both gone to India after holding discussions with the government’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz. “The PCB is mentally prepared to even settle for a shorter series but want it to be Pakistan’s home series and in the UAE,” the source said.

The security at the BCCI Head Quarters in Mumbai has been beefed up after the protest and if reports are to be believed the talks have already been cancelled between the two boards.