Need govt’s clearance to travel to Pakistan, BCCI can’t decide on its own: Roger Binny

New Delhi, Oct 20

Newly-elected BCCI president Roger Binny on Thursday said the board can't decide on its own whether the Indian cricket team will visit Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup or not as the travel-related decisions are taken by the government. The BCCI president's comment came after he was posed with a question on the recent decision of India to not travel to Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup.

"That is not the BCCI's call. We can't say where our team has to go. Whether we leave the country or teams coming into the country, we need clearance. Once we get clearance from the government then we go with it. We can't make decisions on our own. We have to rely on the government," Binny said at an event organised by Karnataka State Cricket Association in Bengaluru.

The Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in Pakistan in September next year. However, BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) recently said that the Indian team will not travel to Pakistan for the Continental championship and demanded that the event be moved to a neutral venue.

Shah's comment ruffled some feathers in Pakistan and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) then requested the Asian Cricket Council to convene an emergency meeting.

The PCB in its statement had also mentioned that if India did not travel across the border for the tournament then such a move could jeopardise Pakistan's participation in the ODI World Cup, which is set to be held in India in 2023.

Earlier in the day, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said the Indian team will need clearance from the Home Ministry to travel to Pakistan.

Notably, Pakistan and India do not play bilateral cricket and only meet in global tournaments or multi-team events since 2013 due to strained political tensions between the two countries.

India's last trip to Pakistan was for the 2008 Asia Cup, while Pakistan's last visit to India was for the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup.The two teams last played each other at the 2022 Asia Cup in UAE in August-September this year, and are due to face off in the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on October 23.

--IANS