ISLAMABAD, January 3: Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday claimed to have suffered financial losses to the tune of Rs 2.4 crore because of India' refusal to play in the triangular One-Day series in Kuala Lumpur. PCB has now threatned that it will take up the issue before the International Cricket Council.The ICC is slated to meet in Melbourne next month and PCB will point out that India's refusal to play is against international body's much touted ten-year calander. The tournament was to be held from January 28 to February 9. Host Malaysia was to be third team. The tournament was cancelled as the Board of Control for Cricket in India pulled out from the series. PCB was to get US $ 400,000 as guarantee money for taking part in the series. The Board has already suffered a loss of US $ 15 million because of Indian government's refusal to allow its team to tour Pakistan for three Tests and five One-Day internationals series. PCB said Pakistan had agreed to play in Kuala Lumpur because it would have helped in promoting the game and also provided the team much needed practice before the New Zealand tour. According to PCB, the initiative to host triangular series in Kuala Lumpur was taken by the Malaysian Cricket Board after Indian government denied its team to tour Pakistan. It claimed the series was also not clashing with the two country's commitments.Australians are due in India only in the end of the second week of next month while Pakistan team will leave for New Zealand on February 12. DUBAI: With the government refusing to budge from its decision not to permit the cricket team to tour Pakistan, Indian cricket board officials are hopeful that the National squad would participate in the triangular tournnament at Sharjah in April, provided the governent gives the go-ahead. Apart from India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are participating in the tourney. Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary J Y Lele told the Gulf News, We hope the team will be cleared for the event, scheduled to start on April four. He said government's clearance was a must for all overseas tours.Lele's comments came amid press reports that India has refused to take part in a tri-nation tournament in Malaysia because Pakistan is also competing. The Malaysian Cricket Association has informed us that the planned tri-series between Pakistan, Malaysia and India has been cancelled because of India's refusal to play, a Pakistan Cricket Board official was quoted as saying.The Indian government has refused to permit the cricket team to tour Pakistan, saying there was no point in having sporting links with a country which is promoting terrorism on the Indian soil. However, it is to be seen whether the Indian team will be allowed to take part in the tournament at Sharjah, which is a neutral venue. Both India and Pakistan have a three-year contract with the Cricketers' Benefit Fund Series, the organisers of cricket tournaments at Sharjah, for participating in the tournaments in the desert. The contract is expiring after the April tournament and the Indian board is yet to take a decision on whether it should be renewed. BCCI chief AC Muthiah,who was in Sharjah in November for the Asian Cricket Foundation meeting, was non-committal on whether the contract with the Sharjah cricket authorities would be renewed. He said a decision on the issue would be taken by the working committee of the board. Meanwhile, Lele refused to comment on the Australian team's Indian tour itinerary which appeared in a section of the press. According to that itinerary, India play their last two one-dayers against Australia on April three at Pune and April six at Bangalore. But the Indian team is also scheduled to arrive in Sharjah on April three for the tri-nation tournament, which begins the next day. I do not want to comment on this controversial issue, Lele said. The official Australian tour itinerary is expected to be released by the BCCI by January 28, Gulf News added.
