The decision on the India vs Pakistan series will be made soon it seems. India Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj wil be reaching Islamabad on Tuesday to attend the Heart of Asia regional conference where she will be meeting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his key advisor Sartaj Aziz.
We have learnt from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan that the final call on India-Pakistan series will be taken after talks between above mentioned delegates on Tuesday.
PCB were anyway waiting for the Indian government to give the series a green signal. They also said on Monday that they cannot afford to wait any longer and if BCCI and the Indian government do not respond anytime soon, then the series will be scrapped.
"We have been informally told that Swaraj will talk on cricket and decide the fate of the series," Khan told reporters on Monday.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by PCB and BCCI, it was Pakistan's turn to host India for a complete series in their adopted home UAE. But Indian government did not allow the players to travel to UAE. The two cricket Boards decided on a neutral venue.
Sri Lanka Cricket agreed to host the much-awaited series on their island. The stadia have also been alotted. If the series gets a green signal, then the arch-rivals will be playing three ODIs and two T20 international matches.
Earlier Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif and India PM Narendra Modi met at the sidelines of the Climate Change conference in Paris. The National Security Advisors of the neighbouring nations met in Bangkok which gave the PCB chief some fresh hope about the India vs Pakistan limited over series.
"The recent meeting between the two prime ministers and security advisers' meeting in Bangkok have hinted the situation between Pakistan and India will improve," Khan added.
If Swaraj, Aziz and PM Nawaz Sharif come to an understanding on Tuesday and gives it a go, then it will be challenging for the two boards to organise the series at such short notice. Although the venues have already been decided, the diplomats need to act quickly if at all they want the series to take place.
