Sports Minister questions BCCI over meeting with PCB

Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Tuesday said there was no need for the Indian board officials to meet their Pakistani counterparts when they knew the bilateral cricketing ties were subject to clearance from the government.

"I would want know why they went ahead with the meeting (when they knew that the series was subject to government clearance). What I can say is that we cannot play bilateral series with Pakistan until it stops cross-border terrorism," Goel told PTI when asked about the meeting between BCCI and PCB in Dubai on Monday.

The meeting between the two boards did not yield any decisive outcome and slim hopes of resumption of bilateral ties in the near future were dashed with outright rejection from the Indian government.

The BCCI, represented by joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary along with CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) MV Sridhar, discussed the pressing issues including the USD 60 million compensation demanded by the PCB.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent a legal notice to BCCI claiming damages to the tune of USD 60 million (Rs 387 crore approx) for allegedly not honouring the MoU that had stated five bilateral series in the cycle between 2015-2023.

Goel also met Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla at his residence on Tuesday and the two spoke about development of sports in north-eastern state.

"We had already sanctioned a football field costing Rs 4.5 crore and we have now approved another synthetic football turf," added Goel.

Image: Sports Minister Vijay Goel

Photograph: ANI