Atmosphere not conducive for Pak-India cricket series: Sushma

NEW DELHI: Accusing Pakistan of cross-border firing, Indian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sushma Swaraj has said that the high number of ceasefire violations do not provide a conducive atmosphere for the sporting exchange between two neighbours, India media reported.

She was responding to a query at a consultative committee meeting, Indian Foreign Affairs Minister said the high number of cross-border firings did not set the tone for engagements such as a cricket series between Pakistan and India, Times of India reported.

With this statement, the prospects of a cricket series between Pakistan and India, even at a neutral venue, are dim, according to Times of India

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj indicated the government's thinking at a meeting of the consultative committee attached to the ministry that offered a review of relations with neighbours.

Pakistan has kicked off a legal battle against India for not honouring a bilateral cricket series agreement, the sport’s governing body has confirmed.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is seeking $70 million in compensation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India after the country failed to attend two series in 2014 and 2015 as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the two boards.

The International Cricket Council confirmed receiving the notice.

“The ICC has received a Notice of Dispute from the PCB’s lawyers, which will be forwarded to the Chairman of the Dispute Resolutions Committee next week,” a spokesman for the ICC said.

The PCB sent a legal notice to their counterparts last year but Indian officials rejected the memorandum as “a piece of paper”.

The arch-rivals have not played a full bilateral series since 2007.New Delhi halted all bilateral sports with Pakistan in the wake of 2008 Mumbai attacks, which India blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

Sending the notice of dispute to the ICC is the final step in a thorough process of resolving such conflicts.

Both boards have met on a number of occasions to try and reach a resolution, but without success. In fact, one of their meetings in England got quite heated when PCB raised the prospect of legal action.