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| Shashank Manohar |
Chandigarh: A packed calendar till next summer came in handy for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Shashank Manohar, during his informal interaction with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt.
That the two would be meeting in neighbouring Mohali, on Monday, had been first reported by The Telegraph.
According to BCCI spokesman Rajeev Shukla, Manohar made three points when Butt sought a resumption of bilateral ties: (a) The schedule till the World T20, next April-May, left no scope for a series against Pakistan; (b) Relations between the countries had to improve; (c) The government had to indicate that cricket with Pakistan could be resumed.
Basically, Manohar held out little hope for Butt. The Boards, though, would start a dialogue if things began to change at the level of New Delhi and Islamabad, that is.
“It’s not that the Boards won’t be talking to each other, but there’s no chance of bilateral cricket resuming in the near future,” Shukla, an MP, pointed out.
Realistically, no breakthrough was expected, so Butt won’t be returning home (on Wednesday) too disappointed.
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