Published: Oct 21, 2015, 04:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 21, 2015, 04:29 PM (IST)
Pakistan has reportedly pulled out from the upcoming Asia Cup for the blind tournament, which is scheduled to be hosted by India in the month of January next year due to security fears. The development follow the incident of Indian far-right regional political party Shiv Sena storming into the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters earlier this month to protest against a proposed meeting with their Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan. India and Pakistan have not shared the best of cricketing ties in the recent past, with the Shiv Sena incident only adding fuel to the fire. READ: Indo-Pak cricket talks cancelled after Shiv Sena’s attack
“The decision to pull out of the January games has been taken in the wake of the current sentiment pertaining to Pakistan and Pakistanis across the border. The management needs to ensure the safety and security of the team,” Syed Sultan Shah, chairman of the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, was quoted as saying to NDTV.
India and Pakistan have shared frosty cricketing relations in sync with their political ties. The two boards have had several meetings in the recent past for the possibility of a bilateral series in December, which is likely to be cancelled after BCCI’s unwillingness to give its nod. India and Pakistan last played a full bilateral series including both Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODI) in 2007, following which the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai ensured the two sides would not enjoy healthy relations for a long time.
