Pakistan cricket board threatens to take India to court

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today sent a legal notice to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), initiating proceedings to seek compensation from the Indian board for not honouring the MoU to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.

"The legal notice has been sent after our legal advisors consulted a reputable law firm in London and have prepared a strong legal case to get compensation from the Indians,” confirmed a PCB official.

The MoU, signed in 2014, was part of a deal between the two boards under which Pakistan supported the Big Three governance and financial model in the ICC.

The source said that in the legal notice Pakistan had pointed out that the BCCI didn’t honour the MOU despite it being signed in the presence of the ICC officials.

"The notice also says that due to India’s repeated refusal to commit itself to the MoU, three series have not been played since 2015 two of them which Pakistan was supposed to host,” he said.

The PCB claims that it has lost between $200 and $300 million due to India’s refusal to play the series that Pakistan was supposed to host.

"We were even willing to host our series at neutral venues as part of the deal but even then the BCCI kept on stalling us and then eventually refused,” the source said.

The PCB will now decide its next course of action after receiving an official response from the BCCI.

"We are prepared to go the courts or the ICC disputes resolution committee to get the compensation,” he said further.

The BCCI has repeatedly turned down offers from the PCB for bilateral matches on the grounds that it is not being given clearance by its government due to tense relations between the two countries.

The PCB informally told the BCCI representatives at the recent ICC meeting of its decision to start legal proceedings against them to claim compensation for the MoU not being honoured.