Govt denies having said no to Sharjah tour

Govt denies having said no to Sharjah tour
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, March 25: Government on Sunday denied reports that it had refused permission for India’s participation in the three-nation Sharjah cricket tournament next month.

‘‘No decision has been taken yet on this issue,’’ a government spokesman told PTI here.

Cricket Board secretary Jaywant Lele said neither Board President AC Muthiah nor he had received any such intimation.

‘‘I have no information about any such decision... neither has BCCI president (AC) Muthiah,’’ Lele said on phone from Baroda.

Lele added that that he expected the decision to be taken in the next couple of days.

The third team in contention in the limited-overs tournament is Sri Lanka.

Pakistan ‘positive’ about playing

Pakistan Cricket Board on Sunday said it was not averse to playing in the International Cricket Council (ICC) knock-out tournament next year even if it was held in India.

‘‘As per the current policy, note current policy, Pakistan will surely go but what happens in a year’s time is hard to forecast,’’ PCB director operations Brigadier Munawwar Rana told AFP in Karachi on Sunday.

Reacting to reports that the Indian government had once again refused permission to its team to play in Sharjah Triangular series next month, which was later denied by a government spokesman, Rana said PCB’s policy on the issue still remained positive. ‘‘India’s anti-cricket stance no more bothers us, it’s of little concern now. Pakistan will continue to be positive as per its current policy and will continue to play with all teams,’’ AFP quoted Rana as saying.

‘‘Pakistan would have been happy had India been there but we are not much concerned about any team’s pull-out.

‘‘We want to play cricket and that’s all. Moreover, the Sharjah event was not India specific and we will play Sri Lanka,’’ Rana said.

Sports Minister Uma Bharti, during a meeting with ICC President Malcolm Gray earlier this week, had given the go-ahead to the world body to organise the tournament in India.

Gray had later laid down a deadline of April 30 for the government to clear its stand on playing with Pakistan so that its participation in the tournament could be ensured.