Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Monday criticised the BCCI's decision to revive the Indo-Pak bilateral cricket ties as he felt Pakistan was not cooperating in the Mumbai terror attacks probe.
The bilateral cricketing ties had been snapped after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and there have been several attempts by the Pakistan Cricket Board in recent months to convince the BCCI to resume it. "Being a Mumbaikar I feel what is the urgency when there is no co-operation from the other side," said Gavaskar.
Gavaskar also felt that India are playing a lot of cricket in the upcoming season and any other series would only put pressure on the cricketers. England are scheduled to arrive in India for a four-match Test series followed by two Twenty20 internationals before going home on Christmas. They would be back to play five one-day internationals, scheduled to take place from January 11.
"Well, my first reaction is that the time the players have between the England series, it is not going to be there. They are playing England in November-December but now they are not going to get the breather," Gavaskar said.
"Players need the time to look after their injuries and get better," he added. Meanwhile, former Pakistan player,Zaheer Abbas expressed happiness at the resumption of ties, saying that it will be good for the Indo-Pak relationship.
"The best remedy is to play. At least the country will be busy watching cricket. It will be good for cricket and Indo-Pak relationship. Both the countries should be playing cricket every year. It is a very good sign," said Abbas. "People in Pakistan are very happy. India are becoming a great power in cricket. Playing with India we can improve our cricket also," he said.
Another former captain Bishan Singh Bedi, however, welcomed the proposed series and said that it was a step in the right direction.
"It will be interesting Pakistan is playing their home series in India. It will mean a lot in the two nations. And the amount of interest and the goodwill it will generate will be huge. Lots of positives will come out of it and it is a step in the right direction," Bedi said.
PTI
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