New Delhi: At the best of times, it's advisable to play with bat close to pad on matters concerning India-Pakistan cricket ties. When relations between New Delhi and Islamabad get worse, as is currently the case, then the bat gets even closer to pad.

In that context, it's understandable that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who is also India's nominee on the executive board of the International Cricket Council, played it very safe while speaking to The Telegraph from Calcutta.

The interaction, on Sunday afternoon, was exclusively on the upcoming talks between the Choudhary-headed delegation of the BCCI and the brass of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has former foreign secretary Shaharyar Khan as its chairman.

"As there's no structured agenda for the meeting between the Boards, I can't predict the outcome...

"The bilateral MoU signed by the Boards in 2014 allows for a dialogue and we, in the BCCI, have no issues in having one with the PCB...

"It's because of that provision in the MoU that the Boards are meeting in Dubai on Mondayafternoon," Choudhary, who left for the Emirate from Calcutta, said.

Even though the meeting is in Dubai, where the world body is headquartered, it's strictly a bilateral dialogue without the presence of a third party.

Asked if the Narendra Modi government had responded to a communication from the BCCI, specifically dwelling on the MoU, Choudhary replied "not yet."

Unless New Delhi gives the green light, there's no question of a resumption of bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan.

The last bilateral engagement was in India, in December 2012-January 2013.

Could the high-level dialogue continue in Birmingham, on the sidelines of the India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy match on June 4, as both Choudhary and Shaharyar (who, incidentally, would have been the nawab of Bhopal had his family not migrated) will be there?

"I cannot rule out that possibility. Of course, everything would depend on how the meeting in Dubai goes," Choudhary answered.

Both Choudhary and Shaharyar are to be joined by two colleagues.

Meanwhile, this Reporter understands that as an MoU is "not a formal document," the PCB doesn't really have strong legs to stand on if it chooses to actively pursue legal action against the BCCI.

That apart, if the PCB has lost plenty of revenue by not hosting India, the BCCI has suffered too with Pakistan not playing this side of the border for well over four years.

In any case, bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan have never been a matter for the two Boards only. Right through, the respective governments have held centre stage.

India last visited Pakistan in mid 2008 for the Asia Cup. The last bilateral series there, however, was way back in January-February 2006.