The Pakistan Cricket Board have more or less given up on the mega India-Pakistan series, which was tentatively scheduled for December in the UAE. PCB chairman, Shahryar Khan, even went to the extent of threatening to boycott India in ICC events if the series did not materialise.
The PCB tried their best to convince the BCCI to make the series happen, but the political situation between the two countries, which has hit a new low, have hampered any chances of it to coming to fruition.
The BCCI have also made it quite clear that the series is not possible until relations improve.
However, now, former Pakistan bowler, Wasim Akram has gone ahead and urged India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to clear the tour, with the left-arm swing bowler believing Narendra Modii will give the much awaited green signal for the series.
"I request prime minister Modi to clear the tour," AFP quoted Wasim Akram as saying.
"I heard that he told his cabinet that he doesn't have any problems in playing sports with Pakistan so cricket should flourish.
"What I have noticed is that PM Modi is striving to make India a superpower and they are cricketing superpower so they have a duty to look around the world and cooperate in others' progress so I am sure he will okay the series."
Cricket fans across both sides of the border were ecstatic when it was first announced that an India vs Pakistan series will take place in December, which also meant a reusumption of bilateral ties.
An India-Pakistan clash is considered to be the biggest rivalry in cricket, even more so than the England-Australia Ashes series.
India-Pakistan cricket matches have always been widely looked forward to by fans around the world, for it brings a different atmosphere to the gentleman's game, which was witnessed in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the men in blue emerged victorious. It also created television history in India, with 288 million viewers watching the match.
Akram believes that a lost India vs Pakistan series is a great loss for cricket fans.
"It's the loss for the cricketing world. India-Pakistan is the ultimate contest and I grew up dreaming to feature in an India-Pakistan match," said Akram.
Though the BCCI might have signed an MoU with PCB to play six bilateral series in eight years, the December series, at present, looks unlikely.
