'BCCI need to compensate PCB for calling off 2009 series'

Former PCB chairman Ijaz Butt has welcomed the planned revival of bilateral cricket ties with India, but has asked the BCCI to compensate it financially for the cancelled series of 2009.

Butt, who was replaced by Zaka Ashraf last October, said during his tenure he had held meetings with BCCI president N Srinivasan in the presence of former ICC chief Sharad Pawar and put forth a formula for revival of ties.

"It is a good thing that finally the BCCI has invited Pakistan to play a short series this year in India. But my concern is that the PCB needs to gain something more out of the series other than resumption of ties," Butt said.

"I had given the BCCI some options but the crux of these options was that India must compensate us financially for the cancelled tour of 2009," he added.

"The way we estimated things we had lost around $45 to 50 million when the 2009 series was cancelled and my argument was simple that India and Pakistan needed to revive bilateral ties on reciprocal basis if required even at neutral venues such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia and England," he added.

The PCB has already accepted the invitation from the BCCI to tour India in December this year for a series of three ODIs and two T20 matches.

It would be the first bilateral series between India and Pakistan after the suspension of cricketing ties between the two nations since the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.

A PCB spokesman, however, said that Pakistan will not ask the BCCI to share the revenue generated from the proposed series as its only interest was to see the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between the two countries.

Butt said he had also briefed Zaka Ashraf about all his meetings with Srinivasan and Pawar.

The former PCB chief said he was not aware under what conditions Pakistan had agreed to play in India.

"My belief is that we need to have bilateral ties with India on equal basis. They need to tour Pakistan and play a couple of matches," Butt stressed.