With the Pakistan Cricket Board indicating that it may raise the issue of India not agreeing on a bilateral series in the UAE with the Int'l Cricket Council, ICC President Zaheer Abbas made it clear that they cannot be "compelled to play against each other," according to the PTI. Zaheer: "Since the matter is a bilateral one between two boards the ICC can only talk to them but not compel them to play against each other bilaterally." Last week, BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur said that "there will be no revival of cricketing relations between the two countries unless outstanding political and diplomatic issues are resolved." PCB Chair Shaharyar Khan "had also admitted that chances of the bilateral series between Pakistan and India in December taking place are now very slim." A well-informed official said that Shaharyar "was very disappointed after the cancellation of the talks between the national security advisors of the two countries." Shaharyar said that "the situation looked very bad after the cancellation of the talks but he would still keep trying as there was some time left before the planned series" (PTI, 8/25).
