Broadcast rights will not be a roadblock for India-Pakistan series, says Shaharyar Khan

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan today said that the broadcast rights issue will not be a hindrance for the proposed Indo-Pak cricket series and exuded confidence that the two boards will sort out the matter soon. The revival of Indo-Pak cricketing ties has hit a roadblock after differences emerged between PCB and BCCI over broadcast rights issues, in particular the PCB’s series-by-series association with Ten Sports. The BCCI reportedly does not approve of the PCB-Ten Sports deal and is not keen on an India-Pakistan series being broadcast by a potential ‘rival’ group. [caption id=“attachment_2242564” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shaharyar Khan. AFP[/caption] Asked if it would be a hindrance for the proposed series, Khan said: “No. I must explain that we will be dealing with the issue in the next few weeks and hopefully we will find a resolution to that.” The proposal to revive Indo-Pak cricketing ties also faced opposition from political leaders with former home secretary and BJP MP from Bihar’s Arrah, RK Singh, raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during zero hour yesterday. Khan said: “It is not so much with the Government of India. It is the BCCI and the broadcasters. We will jointly try to overcome it and I’m hopeful we can.” The proposed full fledged series, which will involve three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two Boards last year and will be hosted by Pakistan in the UAE. Talking about the MOU, Khan said: “India used to be hestitant in coming to UAE for the matches but ever since they had their IPL in UAE, I think their reservation have been resolved. “Therefore, the MOU, clearly says that the first series will be hosted by Pakistan in UAE and BCCI agreed to that,” he told Times Now. Currently in India, Khan had a series of meetings with BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, Union Minister Arun Jaitley and BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur during the past few days. “I met Jagmohan Dalmiya in Kolkata; yesterday I met Arun Jaitley, today I met Anurag Thakur. After meeting all three, I feel we are on the right track and hopefully Indian govt, will give its permission too,” Khan said. Since 2007, India have not played a proper bilateral Test series with Pakistan mainly due to political reasons, particularly after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks which led to suspension of cricketing ties. The two countries played one short series of three ODIs and two T20 matches in India in December 2012 but otherwise they have met only in ICC organised events or the Asia Cup. PTI