After the cancellation of bilateral series in December 2015 by India, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) executive committee chairman Najam Sethi on Saturday said Pakistan will "not go to India" in 2017.
Referring to the Indian move, Sethi said: “They will have to fulfill what they owe us this year or the next (before we can tour India)," Sethi told ESPNcricinfo.
Both cricket boards had signed a memorandum of understanding in 2014 to play at least six series from 2015 to 2023, with Pakistan hosting the first one in December.
"They owe us four home series, and Pakistan gets to host the first one. It was supposed to happen in December but (it didn’t). Eventually, they have to fulfill their obligation before we will go there. They either have to play us in the UAE, or Sri Lanka or wherever we can mutually agree on. They have to keep their contractual obligation," he said.
Giving his response on Indian offer to host the series in December 2015, Sethi said that India had snubbed Pakistan in 2009 when green shirts went to India to play a bilateral series in return in 2012, they didn’t share revenue.
The cricket boards of Pakistan and India had been in a stalemate for months over a venue for the series. India had refused to play in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan’s home away from home, and Pakistan rejected the prospect of playing the series in India.
The UAE has been Pakistan s "home" venue for six years because of the security concerns of foreign teams travelling to Pakistan.
Giles Clarke, who heads International Cricket Council‘s Pakistan Task Force, organized a meeting between PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and BCCI president Shashank Manohar last week in Dubai, where Sri Lanka was chosen as the possible venue.
Recently, BCCI Secretary dismissed any chances of Indo-Pakistan series. He said that even if Indian government givespermission, it will not be possible to arrange the cricket series.
The strain in political relations between the two countries has impacted cricket, but the 2015 series came undone at a time when the Indian foreign minister and Pakistan Prime Minister had committed to the revival of bilateral talks.
Pakistan touring India for the World T20 in March, however, is unlikely to be a problem. The PCB will write to the government for permission.
