Pakistan may be ready to boycott World Twenty20 tournament
Monday 26 October 2015 10:13, UK
Pakistan's cricketing authorities have indicated that they could boycott next year's World Twenty20 tournament if the planned India-Pakistan series this December does not go ahead.
Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, was scheduled to meet the BCCI president Shashank Manohar in Mumbai earlier this week to discuss the series.
However, these talks did not go ahead following anti-Pakistan protests by Shiv Sena, a regional political party in India.
Shaharyar has already written to the Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Shariff, describing the current situation regarding December's India-Pakistan date.
Shaharyar said: "My own feeling is that we will have to go to our government and talk to them.
"What I feel is that the government will say 'do not go to an ICC tournament in India'.
"That is what I sense because of the uncertain situation for a Pakistani in India. You have seen the situation there. We will not have enough security there.
"But the decisions will only be taken when the doors (on the India-Pakistan series) are finally closed.
"To me, the possibility of an Indo-Pak series is close to over.
"India hasn't confirmed or said anything but are delaying it. We will have to decide that this series cannot happen, and after that we will decide what our policy is."
The 2016 World Twenty20 is due to be held in India next March and April while India and Pakistan have not played a Test series since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008.
India are due to play two Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s in the United Arab Emirates where Pakistan play their home fixtures because of security concerns
Earlier this week, Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar was withdrawn from India's home ODI series against South Africa following threats and protests.
