India travelling to Pakistan not BCCI's call, government clearance needed: Roger Binny

Bengaluru: The BCCI can’t take a call on its own on whether the Indian team will travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup or not as it relies on the government to make such decisions, new Board president Rogery Binny said on Thursday.

Speaking at an event organised by Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bengaluru, Binny said the BCCI has not approached the government yet on travelling to Pakistan next year but eventually the central government will only decide on the matter.

“That is not BCCI’s call. We need government’s clearance to leave the country. Whether we leave the country or teams coming into the country, we need clearance.

“Once we get clearance from the government then we go with it. We can’t make decision on our own. We have to rely on the government. We have not approached them yet,” said World Cup winner Binny.

Read: India’s travel to Pakistan will be decided by Home Ministry, says Anurag Thakur

The Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in September next year, ahead of the ODI World Cup in India.

Binny’s comments came after BCCI secretary Jay Shah said the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan next year for the Asia Cup and will instead like to play the tournament at a neutral venue.

Earlier on Thursday, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the Indian team will need clearance from the Home Ministry to travel to Pakistan.

A ‘disappointed’ Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday requested the Asian Cricket Council to convene an emergency meeting.

Referring to Shah’s comment, the PCB had said that “such statements can spilt the Asian and international cricket communities” and impact Pakistan’s visit to India for the 2023 World Cup.

India haven’t travelled to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup, and after the Mumbai terror attack on 26 November that year, the scheduled bilateral series in early 2009 was cancelled.

Pakistan did travel to India for a short six-match white-ball series in 2012, but in the last 10 years, there hasn’t been any bilateral cricket. The two teams have only played each other at various ICC and ACC events.

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