LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent a legal notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), initiating proceedings to seek compensation from the Indian board for not honouring the MOU to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the PCB claimed that the notice was sent after BCCI’s refusal to honour their contractual agreement. “The PCB has sent to BCCI a Notice of Dispute under the Dispute Resolution Committee Terms of Reference of the ICC (ICC TORs) for breaching the agreement executed between PCB and BCCI in respect of the Future Tour Programme for the period 2015-2023,” the statement read.
“The PCB has claimed losses and damage suffered as a result of BCCI’s breach of the agreement,” the statement added.
Before the now-defunct Big-Three took over the International Cricket Council (ICC), the PCB and BCCI have agreed to play six bilateral series with each other, four of which were supposed to be hosted by Pakistan between 2015 and 2023. However, the BCCI has so far been unable to play any of those half-a-dozen series due to its inability to secure clearances from the Indian government.
PCB chairman Shaharyar M Khan had earlier told the media on several occasions that the board was considering sending a legal notice to the BCCI and he proved himself so daring that he had done it, what he had been claiming since long.
Earlier, PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi has said that Pakistan’s case against the Indian cricket authorities for dishonouring agreement of playing bilateral series with Pakistan is strong, adding that the board is fully prepared to move ahead with suing the BCCI.
Sethi had said that the PCB had informed the BCCI of their plans to sue the Indian board. “The PCB has told the BCCI that it is suing for compensation against their refusal to play bilateral series as per the agreement signed in 2014,” Sethi said after the ICC meeting in Dubai, which also outvoted the Big-Three and India’s dominance in the ICC.
A 2014 agreement between Pakistan and India states that the Indian team was scheduled to play six series against Pakistan, out of which four of them were going to be Pakistan’s home series. However, India backtracked on its commitment, citing its government's refusal. Both Pakistan and India haven’t played full series since 2007, although Pakistan toured India in late 2012 for a short series of three ODIs and two T20Is.
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