Thaindian News

Karachi, April 8(ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has welcomed the ‘positive’ comments of Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who indicated that India was open to sending its cricket team to the neighbouring country.

Rao had stated that as cricket could become an instrument of diplomacy, “in such situations, India was looking at promoting cricketing contacts with Pakistan”. “We are definitely open. Of course, this has to be discussed between the cricketing fraternities on both sides and taken forward,” Rao had said in a television interview in response to a query whether India was looking at sending its team to Pakistan.

Responding to the comments of the Indian Foreign Secretary, a PCB spokesman said: “A Pakistan-India series is a huge event in cricket, and we are happy over this development.”

“The PCB has been working on reviving Pakistan’s series against India with the BCCI [Board of Cricket Control in India] and we hope to achieve positive results soon,” The News quoted the spokesman, as saying.Pakistan and India have not played in any bilateral series since 2007, when Shoaib Malik led the Greenshirts on the tour of India. Even though India and Pakistan appear keen to revive their cricket ties, there are remote chances of any bilateral series taking place this year because there is no proper window available to fit in a full series in 2011.

However, sources pointed out towards a possibility that Pakistan and India might meet in a few limited-overs matches in England this summer. India will be in England to play a full series there, while Pakistan has several free weeks during the summer.According to the sources, the PCB and the BCCI are exploring the possibility of fitting in a few Twenty20 or One-day Internationals (ODIs) between their teams in England. (ANI)