The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not willing to give up on an India vs Pakistan series in 2016, despite Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur having ruled it out, thanks to with India's hectic 2016 schedule.
India, who will host the World T20 in March, have to tour Zimbabwe, West Indies and will also welcome Bangladesh, New Zealand and England at home later in the year. Therefore, the window for an India vs Pakistan series looks small. However, the PCB believes a series is possible if the Indian government clears it.
PCB Executive Committee Chairman Nijam Sethi feels the series will not take much time as it can be concluded within a fortnight.
"Our stance remains that if the Indian government gives permission to the BCCI, we can sit down with them and take out 10-15 days for a series this year," PTI quoted Sethi as saying. "It can be managed in 10-15 days. It will be our effort to have series if both governments give green light for cricket."
The series was originally scheduled to be played in the UAE in December, but it could not take place due to diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorating. The PCB put in all its effort for the series to materialise last year, but could not convince India for it.
The PCB put constant pressure on the BCCI, who had agreed to play the men in green six times in eight years — as per a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) — which included a series in December last year. The PCB now says the BCCI now owes it a series.
"We will wait, and now since they didn't play in December as per the MoU signed between the two boards, the liability of giving us a home series is on them. They owe us one more series. We have decided whenever we play now we will not tour India and it will be our home series at any neutral venue," Sethi said. "The logic is, the host board must earn from a home series and that is why we want to host whenever the next series is held."
