Explained: Did S Jaishankar discuss resuming India-Pakistan cricket ties during SCO meeting?

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected reports of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar holding informal talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dhar regarding cricketing ties between the two countries, during the recently-held Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Islamabad. This comes amid uncertainty over the Indian cricket team travelling to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy early next year.

‘Some pleasantries were exchanged’

“You would have seen that the only bilateral meeting that our External Affairs Minister had was with Mongolia. Other than that, there were some pleasantries that were exchanged on the sidelines of the meeting, especially during lunch and dinner. Whether any conversation regarding cricket happened or not, I would say nothing of that sort happened,” Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters while addressing a press conference recently.

Jaishankar, Ishaq involved in ‘brief interaction’: Report

A photo of Jaishankar sitting beside his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq during lunch following the conclusion of the SCO Summit had gone viral. According to the Times of India, Jaishankar and Ishaq were involved in a brief interaction that lasted for five to seven minutes, and even Mohsin Naqvi, the current chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also joined the conversation. The report states that Pakistan came up with the suggestion of using cricket to “break the ice” with India.

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Pakistani media, however, stated that Jaishankar and Ishaq Dhar were seated together during lunch so that they could hold “informal meeting”. As per a report in The Tribune, “no details were available about informal discussions between Dar and Jaishankar”, but the report adds that the talks were more than “mere pleasantries”.

In September, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajeev Shukla stated that the final call regarding India’s travel plans to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy would be taken by the Indian government.

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“No decision has been taken (yet). But our policy is that for international tours, we always seek the permission of the government. It’s up to the government to decide whether our team should go to any country or our team should not go to any country,” Shukla had said.

Recently, a report in Cricbuzz said that the PCB was ready to provide a helping hand by making arrangements for Team India to return home, to either Delhi or Chandigarh, after each Champions Trophy match, if the Men in Blue are not prepared to stay in Pakistan.

Over the last few years, India and Pakistan have only locked horns in ICC and ACC tournaments barring a limited-overs series in India in 2012. The 2023 Asia Cup, hosted by Pakistan, was held in a hybrid model, with India playing all their matches in Sri Lanka. Nine matches, including the final, had taken place in Sri Lanka whereas Pakistan hosted four matches.

Pakistan did travel to India in 2023 for the ODI World Cup, where they missed out on a semi-final spot after finishing fifth. Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, has been quite vocal about India travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, scheduled to take place between 19 February and 9 March next year.

“The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” he had said earlier in October.