A day after publicly "giving up hopes" on the proposed Indo-Pak cricket series taking place, Pakistan Cricket Board Chair Shaharyar Khan on Monday "once again extended deadline" for the Board of Control for Cricket in India "till tonight" to take a final call on the series, according to the PTI. Talking to the media in Lahore, Khan said that the series was "still not officially called off." Khan: "I have asked (England and Wales Cricket Board president) Giles Clarke to bring an answer from India. He is going to call me in the evening to tell me the final reply from the Indians." Clarke is "believed to be playing the role of a mediator between the Pakistan and Indian Cricket Boards and was also present" at a meeting between Khan and BCCI President Shashank Manohar in Dubai last month (PTI, 12/14). INDIA TODAY's Baidurjo Bhose reported the "indecision over the bilateral series between India and Pakistan took a whole new turn" on Sunday after Manohar claimed he had "no idea of any letter" sent by the PCB requesting the BCCI to clarify its stance on the series. Khan said that the series was "all but canned" as it had not "received any reply from the BCCI to their letter." Manohar said that he was not "aware of any such communication." According to Khan, the letter was sent on Dec. 10 (INDIA TODAY, 12/14).
