I would be lying if I say I have moved on from CSK: Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels ‘different’ about captaining a new team in the Indian Premier League for the first time in eight years and says he has not moved on from his days at the now suspended Chennai Super Kings.

“I would be lying if I say I have moved on. That is the special part of being a human being. There is got to be an emotional connect after eight years (with CSK),” said Dhoni at the jersey launch of his new team, the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Usually calm and composed on the field, Dhoni got a tad emotional when asked about the team he led since the inception of the IPL.

“If you want me to be politically correct, that is not how I am. After eight years of IPL, it feels very different to play for any other team. All of a sudden if you want me to say that I am very excited to play for a new team, don’t give credit to CSK and the fans for the love and affection they have given us, it will be wrong.

“But as a professional, I would like to thank the Pune team for taking me. Of course there will be added responsibility as captain but as a professional we are supposed to do the job with more than 100 hundred percent commitment. And that is what we will try to do,” said the India limited-overs captain, a day after leading the team to a T20 series win over Sri Lanka.

Dhoni said he will miss playing alongside the likes of Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Brendon McCullum before exuding confidence in the players picked for the new team.

“There are a lot of players we will miss. We were together for eight years, our core group was the same. We were so consistent and our strength was that we played as a team. We have taken some former CSK players but then at the auction, the two new teams were expected to do most of the buying. If you look at the six other franchisees, they have a settled lot. Therefore, the pressure will be on the new franchise,” he felt.

On playing against long-time India and CSK teammate Raina, who will captain the other new team Gujarat Lions, Dhoni said: “We all know how destructive Raina is. At the same time, he will just not be playing me and us, he will be playing against the other teams too. He will be trying his best to do well. We have to make sure that we do the job that is expected from us.”

The maverick Kevin Pietersen is also part of the Pune unit. Asked about his plans to deal with former England batsman, Dhoni said “we will wait and watch”.

“Every player will have a role in the team. There is a basic way every cricketer plays. KP is fantastic, somebody who is aggressive and expressive on the field. Not only has that, he like other seniors, had an added responsibility to groom the youngsters. We will have to wait and watch (about KP’s behaviour) but I don’t think it will be an issue,” added Dhoni.

Besides Dhoni, the other big players in the Pune team are Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, Australia captain Steven Smith and South African batsmen Faf du Plessis.

Dhoni is also pleased about CSK coach Stephen Fleming joining him at Pune.

“The life becomes slightly easy with him around. We know each other for long time. He is a fantastic coach. His management skills are very good. What I really like is that he is calm like me. It is good to have him and hopefully it will work for us.”

On Rahane, he said: “He is someone who is very consistent. He may not be part of the playing 11 regularly in the T20 Internationals but that is because your openers Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan) are doing really well. But if you look at his performances in the IPL, Rahane is among top-two, top three batsmen”.

Kanitkar named assistant coach

Former India cricketer Hrishikesh Kanitkar has been named assistant coach of the new Indian Premier League franchise — Rising Pune Supergiants — for the upcoming season to be held from April 9 to May 29.

Kanitkar, who played two Tests in 1999-2000 and 34 ODIs, is remembered for his heroics in the final match of the Independence Cup against Pakistan in 1998.

The gutsy left hander hit a boundary off Saqlain Mushtaq, when India required three runs to win from two balls, in fading light to enable them post a memorable victory over the arch-rivals in Dhaka, chasing a 300-plus target.

With 8,059 runs in 105 matches, Kanitkar is in the top five highest run-getters in Ranji Trophy.

In July 2015, Kanitkar announced his retirement from international cricket.

The Rising Pune Supergiants have already named Stephen Fleming as the head coach.

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BCCI finds Rauf guilty of corruption

The disciplinary committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Friday, banned Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf for five years on charges of “corruption” and “misconduct” in relation to the Indian Premier League betting and spot-fixing scandal of 2013.

Rauf was named in the Mumbai Police’s chargesheet after he left India when the scandal came to light three years ago.

The disciplinary committee, which met here on Friday, found Rauf guilty of corruption and misconduct under articles 2.2.2, 2.3.2, 2.3.3 and 2.4.1 of the BCCI’s anti-corruption code.

Rauf, who did not appear before the committee but sent his preliminary submission on January 15 and a written statement responding to the allegations on February 8, will not be allowed to take part in any activity of the BCCI or its affiliates.

Rauf was found in violation of four clauses of the anti-corruption code. In brief, they are “soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging, facilitating or authorising any other party to enter into a bet…”, “disclosing inside information to any person with or without reward before or during any match…”, “soliciting… any participant to commit an offence under any of the aforementioned provisions of Article 2.3…”, and “providing or receiving any gift, payment or other benefit (whether of a monetary value or otherwise) in circumstances that the participant might reasonably have expected could bring him/her or the sport of cricket into disrepute.”

After leaving India in 2013, Rauf denied the allegations of corruption made against him. He was subsequently sacked by the International Cricket Council, his employer since 2000.

An experienced umpire, Rauf, who was part of the Elite Panel from 2006 to 2013, officiated in 49 Tests, 98 ODIs and 23 T20Is.

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Kohli’s ‘smashed you enough’ retort leaves Faulkner stumped

James Faulkner’s attempt to engage India’s Virat Kohli in a war of words during the third ODI in Melbourne backfired on the Australian paceman as the star batsman emphatically told him to just keep bowling as “I have smashed you enough in my life”.

Kohli, who became the fastest to reach 7000 ODI runs and 24 centuries en route a run-a-ball 117 in a losing cause at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday, was batting on 73 when Faulkner tried to rile up the batsman.

“You’re wasting your energy. There’s no point, I’ve smashed you enough in my life. Just go and bowl,” Kohli was heard telling Faulkner, who challenged the Indian to go after his bowling.

“Smile. Having fun aren’t we?” the Australian responded.

The incident happened as Kohli completed a single at the non-striker’s end when Faulkner was returning to his bowling mark in the 35th over of the Indian innings. Faulkner tried to instigate Kohli, who is also known for his aggressive attitude, and the batsman responded in kind. Their utterances were caught in the stump microphone.

Kohli’s effort was the highlight of India’s outing at the MCG, where they conceded the five-match ODI series 0-3 to the hosts after yet another sloppy performance.

Batting first, India scored 295 for six in 50 overs with Kohli doing the bulk of scoring. In reply, Australia never looked in trouble as they knocked off the required runs with 1.1 overs still remaining.

However, while surpassing the twin milestones in just his 161st innings, Kohli got the better of the Australian bowling attack at the hallowed turf.

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India cannot expect an easy outing

The Manuka Oval is a quiet place but so is all of Canberra. Here in the middle of Australia’s leafy National capital, India will look for relief from a week of noisy despair. The VB Series is lost, but the two dead rubbers, beginning with the fourth ODI here on Wednesday, give India the opportunity to play with a little freedom.

It is a chance for the team and its beleaguered bowlers to begin afresh. It is also a chance to experiment — although that was perhaps the point of the series, which had little context in the larger scheme of things — without fretting over the result.

India’s decision to drop R. Ashwin for Rishi Dhawan in Melbourne would not have been an easy one to make. It was, in M.S. Dhoni’s opinion, the only way he could field another seam bowler without weakening the batting.

Great one-day wicket
Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who was a member of the ground-staff here seven years ago and knows the pitch as well as anyone else, said on Monday that it was going to be “a great wicket for one-day cricket.” It will thus be interesting to note whether Ashwin comes back in, on a surface that is expected to be flat without taking much turn.

Ashwin bowled non-stop for nearly two hours in the nets on Tuesday, along with Axar Patel. The Gujarat all-rounder played three games in the triangular series here last year, without making much of an impression, positive or negative. He was then part of India’s squad during the World Cup but did not play a single game. It would be pointless to have brought him this far this time only to carry the drinks.

Meanwhile, Barinder Sran did not bowl until near the end of India’s training session. The left-armer went for 63 runs from his eight overs at the MCG and could well sit this one out in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav need to bowl better than they have in the previous two matches. India has no ready replacements for bowlers of their experience.

Australia, for its part, will welcome David Warner, back from the birth of his second child, into the team again. It will give the home side a selection headache, for Shaun Marsh has scored half-centuries in his two previous innings. Glenn Maxwell, Lyon and Warner have all spoken of winning the series 5-0 and not giving an inch. India cannot expect an easy outing.

The teams (from):

India: M.S. Dhoni (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Gurkeerat Mann, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Rishi Dhawan, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Barinder Sran, and Axar Patel.

Australia: Steve Smith (capt.), Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade, James Faulkner, John Hastings, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, Nathan Lyon and Shaun Marsh.

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough and John Ward. Match referee: Jeff Crowe. Start of play: 8:50 a.m. IST.

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Century is immaterial if team does not win: Rohit

His last three international hundreds have been in losing causes and Indian batsman Rohit Sharma feels that even the best of knocks do not give a player satisfaction if the team ends up on a losing note.

Rohit smashed his way to an unbeaten 171 in the first ODI against Australia but the home team comfortably won by five wickets in Perth on Tuesday.

“It was a great knock and it is always important to start the series on a positive note. (But) it was disappointing in the end not to be on the winning side because that is what matters at the end of the day. How many runs you score doesn’t matter if your team doesn’t end up winning,” Rohit told bcci.tv on Wednesday.

“Personally, it was important that I could get the team off to a good start and then carry on the momentum from there. That is exactly what I did.”

Someone, who is now known for scoring big hundreds in the 50-over format, Rohit is happy that he is carrying on the good work after getting a start.

“We always talk about this in our team meeting that one batsman needs to carry on and bat as long and deep as possible. One set batsman batting till the end makes a huge difference. I feel I have been doing that of late. I have been getting past 100 and then trying my best to get bigger scores after the century.

“Hundred is just a milestone, but you have to look at it from the team’s perspective as well. I want to get big hundreds for the team.”

On bouncy Australian tracks, the key to success is playing with soft hands and the Mumbaikar said he has exactly been doing that.

“It is something that I have been doing of late, which is to assess the situation initially and then accelerate. With two new white balls from both ends end, it does do a little bit, especially here in Perth, there is a bit of extra bounce. As a batsman, it is important to analyse what is happening.

“You have to be wary of such factors and shot selections become very important. I had a certain gameplan in my head and I was trying to execute it. Once I got into my zone, it was important to carry on and make it big from there. I wanted to get the team to a good total,” he added.

The batsman said that the team needs to check what went wrong. “We need to see where we went wrong.”

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India has to live with bad umpiring decisions: Haddin

Former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin on Wednesday said India have to live with bad decisions from the umpires until and unless they stop opposing the Decision Review System (DRS) technology.

The 38-year-old added the visitors were not in a position to complain given their refusal to adopt the DRS.

Replays and hot spot indicated Australia batsman George Bailey should have been out first ball, caught by India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni down the leg side after he was flicked on the glove, but umpire Richard Kettleborough spared him.

From there Bailey bludgeoned a century in a record-breaking stand with Steve Smith, which helped Australia chase down India’s 309 and take a 1-0 series lead in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series on Tuesday.

Dhoni attracted raised eyebrows with his response when asked whether he believed his team was punished with 50-50 calls going against them as a result of their position on the DRS.

“I may agree with you,” Dhoni replied to the reporter following his team’s loss to Australia in the first ODI, a match in which the non-dismissal of George Bailey cost them dearly.

“India is the one that don’t want it, so they’ve got to live with these decisions,” Haddin was quoted as saying by Sky Sports Radio.

“They can scream as much as they want about whether it’s a conspiracy or that world cricket is against them, but they don’t want DRS so they are going to have to cop those sorts of decisions on the chin,” he said.

The former Test vice-captain agreed that Bailey had been fortunate.

“They’re usually hard ones to give down leg side because you’ve got hands and legs and that everywhere. But I reckon that was obvious last night that came off the glove,” he said.

Dhoni and the BCCI remain unmoved on anti-technology stance and in particular their opposition to ball tracking.

New BCCI president Shashank Manohar said last month that unless DRS became “foolproof” the Indians would continue to refuse the technology.

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With eye on World T20, India-Australia renew fierce rivalry

India will look to get their combination right as they renew their fierce rivalry against a confident Australia in the first of the five-match ODI series starting in Perth on Tuesday, marking the onset of a long limited-overs schedule stretching until the World T20.

The short limited overs series, including five ODIs and three T20 internationals, Down Under will initiate the Indian team’s preparations for the marquee ICC World T20 scheduled in March-April.

The T20 games will be played after the five ODIs, and Dhoni’s boys would like to carry the momentum in the shortest format.

Warm-up matches

While India won both their warm-up games — a T20 and 50-over match each — against the second string Western Australia XI, it is certainly not the best indicator of the kind of challenge they will face from Steve Smith’s men.

India did not have a great 2015 when they came to the 50-over format as they lost back-to-back series to Bangladesh (away) and South Africa (at home).

Rue Shami’s absence

Skipper Dhoni will like to turn the tables in the New Year but will rue the fact that one of his best pace weapons, Mohammed Shami, has been ruled out due to a hamstring injury even before the first ball has been bowled.

But there are certain aspects that might also relieve Dhoni. The fact that David Warner may not be available for better part of the series and with Mitchell Starc or the now retired Mitchell Johnson not there, the Aussie bowling attack comprising Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris, Scott Boland and Jimmy Faulkner looks thin on experience.

As far as his own bowling attack is concerned, Dhoni has been fretting over the possible playing XI combinations.

Three-man pace attack

His most experienced bowler Ishant Sharma did not play any of the two warm-up games, so it’s not known whether he would be playing in the opening game.

With three pacers almost certain to play at the WACA, which is the bounciest of Australian pitches, there are high chances that left-arm pacer Barinder Sran could win his maiden India cap alongside Ishant and Umesh Yadav.

The lanky Sran looked impressive in both the practice matches with both pace and swing in his armoury. With a deceptive short ball, Sran could prove to be a handful, complementing Ishant and Umesh.

The two experienced spin-bowling all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will make up the five-pronged bowling attack for India.

Batting line-up almost settled

The batting unit looks more or less settled with Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in the opening slots followed by vice captain Virat Kohli at No 3. Ajinkya Rahane is expected at No 4 and one might find the Indian captain batting at No 5.

In the middle-order, the No 6 slot will see a new face.

Vacuum by Suresh Raina absence

One among Manish Pandey or Gurkeerat Singh will be playing in slot that got vacated due to Suresh Raina’s exclusion from the squad.

Manish Pandey, who made an impressive ODI debut against Zimbabwe last year, staked his claim with a 58 in the practice game, but Gurkeerat has been a consistent performer for Punjab and India A.

Dhoni always doesn’t go by scores in warm-up games so it would not be surprising if he picks Gurkeerat ahead of Manish in the end.

The other option could be seamer all-rounder Rishi Dhawan. But the pace at which he bowls, and his batting abilities on this kind of track, has not really been tested.

The year is going to be important for Dhoni, who has been named captain till the end of World T20.

The selectors wanted to send a message by putting an end to the question mark over his leadership. But the man himself knows that he has to up the ante and perform for his team.

India needs Dhoni to produce match-winning efforts, which have been few and far between in recent times. It will be interesting to see where Dhoni comes into bat. For him, a lot will depend on how his pace battery delivers.

During the World Cup last year, the trio of Umesh, Shami and Mohit bowled like well-oiled machines even though the Bengal pacer was on injections to lessen the excruciating pain on his knee.

Smith — man to watch out for

It won’t be easy to stem the flow of runs if Australia skipper Smith gets going. Warner, for whatever time he is available, would be a threat looming large on the bowlers. His sheer presence can be intimidating.

Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell can take apart any bowling on their day.

Then there is former captain George Bailey, a very competent player in this format and someone who can build an innings. James Faulkner’s prowess as a batsman is well known to the Indians and especially Ishant Sharma, who was hammered during the 2013 series.

In the larger scheme of things then, Team India couldn’t have asked for a better challenge to kick-start their preparation for the ICC event two months down the road.

Immediate concern for India

Immediate concerns are aplenty though, ranging from solving the batting order equation to finding the right balance with the bowling attack. Starting with the latter, Shami’s hamstring injury is a big blow to Indian hopes.

The pacer spent a considerable time away from the game since the 2015 ODI World Cup, but it cannot be denied that he was the spearhead of the attack in the limited-overs arena.

During their last trip here in 2014-15, he was the most improved bowler across four-plus months spent, and it showed in the manner he picked 17 wickets in the World Cup.

Stretching back to 2011-12, this is Yadav’s fourth visit to Australia, and he will be eager to showcase that experience on the field.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar had suffered at their hands too, and it will be interesting to see if he regains his place in the XI, after being called as Shami’s replacement.

Ishant is back in the ODI fold again, after missing out on the World Cup last year owing to injury. The duo will fight it out for the third pacer spot, for Sran, with his left-arm angle and extra pace, is in line for his debut.

India will surely look to play five bowlers, and in the 50-over warm-up game, all three spinners in the squad picked up two wickets each. It isn’t going to deter Dhoni’s plan of fielding R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Axar Patel.

New-look Australia

A day ahead of the game, Australia have already named the playing eleven. 23-year-old left-arm quick Joel Paris and 26-year-old Scott Boland have been handed their ODI debuts.

Mitchell Marsh and James Faulkner will make it a pace-heavy attack.

Squads

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Manish Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Barinder Sran, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Rishi Dhawan

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, James Faulkner, Matthew Wade (WK), Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Joel Paris, Scott Boland.

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Australia names 13-man squad for ODI series against India

Australia has named a 13-man squad for the upcoming one-day series against India, with pacemen Joel Paris and Scott Boland set for their international debuts.

Seamer Kane Richardson, who has eight ODI appearances, has also been included with Josh Hazlewood, the sole member of Australia’s fast-bowling group from their successful World Cup campaign last year.

Fellow test quick James Pattinson has been left out as has the injured Peter Siddle.

No specialist spinner has been included in the squad which covers the first three games of the five-match series, in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Steve Smith is captain, while batsmen Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and George Bailey have been called up, but test player Usman Khawaja has been left out, as have Shane Watson, Joe Burns and current Big Bash Twenty20 star Chris Lynn.

The five-game series starts on January 12 at the WACA in Perth.

The 23-year-old Paris battled injuries last season but has made a strong return, taking 14 wickets in two matches in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition.

Boland was included in Australia’s squad for the second and third tests against the West Indies but didn’t break into the match XI.

“Scott has continued to impress the selection panel, having bowled very well for Victoria this year,” selection chairman Rod Marsh said. “He certainly deserves this chance at the top level.

“Joel is an exciting young left-arm bowler who swings the ball well and has bowled beautifully in the Big Bash League for the Perth Scorchers. He has had very good figures in short-form cricket and we really want him to make the most of this opportunity.”

Richardson returns to the Australia squad for the first time since its one-day series against South Africa last year. “Kane has had a taste of cricket at the international level and although that has been interrupted on occasions through injury we think he is ready to perform consistently for Australia,” Marsh said.

Fast bowlers James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Patrick Cummins and John Hastings are either unavailable or have been omitted. Paris, Boland, Richardson, Marsh and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade are the only members of the squad who were not part of the World Cup last year.

All-rounder James Faulkner returns to the squad after missing the recent series against England for disciplinary reasons while test all-rounder Shaun Marsh has also been recalled.


Australia squad: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, George Bailey, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Joel Paris, Matthew Wade

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Batsmen disappoint; India wins warm-up game

Rohit Sharma and Manish Pandey sparkled with half-centuries but rest of India’s batsmen put up a lacklustre performance before the bowlers came good to hand the team a 64-run win over a second string Western Australia XI in the warm-up one-day cricket match in Perth on Saturday.

Having won the first practice Twenty20, the Indians once managed to hit the right notes in bowling after an erratic batting performance at the WACA. After managing 249 all out in 49.1 overs, the Indians packed WA XI for 185 in 49.2 overs.

Electing to bat, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side did not have the best of starts, losing two quick wickets but Rohit Sharma (67) and Ajinkya Rahane (41) stitched an 88-run third-wicket partnership to help the visitors put up a respectable score.

Shikhar Dhawan (4) and Virat Kohli (7), who were top-scorers in the first warm-up T20 game on Friday, failed to get going as they fell to new-ball bowler Drew Porter, who bagged a five-wicket haul.

The WA bowlers kept pegging things back with regular wickets and Rahane’s departure once again spelt trouble for the Men in Blue.

Pandey then put his hand up to contribute with a well-made 58 and stake his claim for a place in the middle-order in the absence of Suresh Raina.

Pandey, who hit three fours in his 59-ball stay, managed a 60-run seventh-wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to pace up the innings.

But the tail failed to wag and Rishi Dhawan’s (0) run-out didn’t help matters and the visitors could not last their full quota of 50 overs.

Porter (5-37) made life difficult for the Indian batsmen on a fast and bouncy track while leg-spinner James Muirhead chipped in with two scalps. Pace spearhead David Moody and leg-spinner Liam O’Connor bagged a wicket apiece.

In reply, the William Bosisto-led side started on a cautious note against a disciplined Indian attack led by Umesh Yadav (1-29), but soon hit a rough patch after losing a couple of wickets.

Yadav drew first blood with the wicket of Bosisto (13) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2-32) soon sprung into action to send back D’Arcy Short (10).

Ravindra Jadeja (2-38) and Rishi Dhawan (2-28) also struck in quick succession as WA soon started losing their way. Jadeja trapped opener Jake Carder LBW for 45.

Left-arm spinner Axar Patel (2-29) got wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis for 17, while Ashwin struck again to get Porter (10) caught behind.

No.7 Jaron Morgan made a fighting 50, but his innings came too late in the day with the asking rate and the target beyond their reach.

Jadeja, Patel and Gurkeerat Singh then bagged a wicket each to wipe off the tail.

Both the teams were allowed to play all 14 members of their squad in the 50-over game with only 11 allowed to bat and field at a time.

The first of the five ODIs starts January 12 at the same venue.

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India-Pakistan cricket series should resume: Wasim Akram

Former fast bowler Wasim Akram says that Pakistan should not mind playing the proposed series in India if the government gives the go ahead for the resumption of cricket ties.

The two Asian neighbors are expected to play at a neutral venue with Sri Lanka emerging as the venue for the ODIs and T20s.

“It does not matter what the venue is and Pakistan can play in India if our government gives clearance. The main thing is that Indo-Pak cricket series should be resumed,” Akram said.

The former Pakistan captain said it was important to move forward in Indo-Pak cricket relations as nearly 10 crore people in both countries follow the contest.

“It is important for both countries to play against each other in the larger interest of the game. And there is no doubt that if a series takes place soon it will strengthen the Pakistan cricket board financially,” said.

The PCB said in a statement on Wednesday that there had been lot of speculations in the media since the meeting of the PCB and BCCI chiefs in Dubai with the President of the England and Wales Cricket Board Giles Clarke also present.

“PCB has informed the government of the talks in Dubai that were regarded as fruitful. The PCB has not asked for an NOC from government, for it is the government’s prerogative to decide on the issue,” the statement said.

It also said that the BCCI is similarly also seeking its government’s views on these matters and that no request has been received from BCCI regarding the sharing of revenues.

The statement said any briefing on any developments will be done by Giles Clarke.

Akram’s push for having the series even in India comes at a time when the PCB reacted strongly to the national T20 skipper Shahid Afridi saying in the media that Pakistan could go and play in India if the PCB got good money for the series.

The PCB had sought an explanation from Afridi for his comments on policy matters and cautioned him to be careful in future.

But in Dubai on Wednesday Afridi again fully endorsed any resumption of cricket ties with India, saying wherever and whenever a series is played the show must go on, irrespective of politics.

Many other former Pakistan players including Javed Miandad have opposed to Pakistan touring India for the series.

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