Kirti Azad expects much-awaited Indo-Pak bilateral series not to take place

Kirti Azad feels the bilateral series will not take place due to ceasefire violations on the border

BJP MP and former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad said that there was no chance that the year ending bilateral series between India and Pakistan would take place, reported TOI.

Azad went on to add that the series would not take place unless the ceasefire violations at the border were not stopped, "The members of boards are also Indian and they realise that terror and talks don't go together until there is peace on the border. I think there is no chance of bilateral series with Pakistan at no neutral venue," Azad said.

"Our soldier or your soldiers, in times of war when you are protecting your border it does happen. There are so many ceasefire violations on the international border, a line of control is something that has to be taken very seriously," he added.

The former cricketer described the storming of the BCCI headquarters by the Shiv Sena, which led to the cancellation of talks between the PCB official and BCCI officials, as an act of hooliganism.

"Protesting is not a problem. But you can't use strong arm tactics. You can't manhandle people. That's not the way to do it. That's not democracy. That's trying to be hooliganism."

Places trust in Shashank Manohar

Azad praised recently-elected BCCI president Shashank Manohar for the decisions which were taken during the 85th annual general meeting held in Mumbai. He went on to add that Manohar was an upright and honest man and believed he would take the right steps to better BCCI.

"I have great faith in Shashank Manohar. He is an upright and straightforward man and I really appreciate and laud him for his fantastic work since he became BCCI president," Azad said.

Roger Binny was removed from his national selector post on grounds of conflict of interest, as his son, Stuart plays for India, and national team director Ravi Shastri was also removed from the Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council.

The Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the PCB and BCCI states that the two countries are scheduled to play six series between 2015 and 2023 after a clearance from the Indian Government. India has not played a full bilateral Test series with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.