Pakistan plans to play canceled series in India

KARACHI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to revive cricketing ties with India, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ejaz Butt, has proposed to play Pakistan's home series against India on their soil, local media reported Tuesday.

Butt told reporters Monday that he proposed the idea during his recent visit to India and is in constant touch with the government of Pakistan, India and Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) over the issue.

It's important to mention that foreign teams have refused to tour Pakistan in the wake of growing acts of terror in the country, especially after an attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in March this year in Lahore.

The situation has not only dented Pakistan cricket but has also hit PCB finances hard. Pakistan has only played 20 test matches in the current year, which is the lowest among all the Test-playing nations.

India was due to tour Pakistan earlier this year, but refused to fulfill the commitment in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, due to which, PCB suffered huge financial losses. Only on television rights, PCB suffered annual losses of 71 percent because of the scrapped series against India and the refusal of other teams to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.

Butt further stated that Pakistan suffered a total loss worth 125 million U.S. dollars since the other teams began refusing to tour the country. The PCB lost over 40 million dollars because of the cancellation of the series against India alone.

In a meeting with the International Cricket Council (ICC) Task Force, Ejaz Butt asked international cricket chiefs to help Pakistan stage its bilateral series against India on neutral venue.

Pakistan has already shifted its home series against Australia to England and the idea to relocate its series against India would give PCB enough chance to earn some of the lost money.