Mani enters Indo-Pak stand-off

Ehsan Mani, the president of the International Cricket Council, is disappointed with the confusion surrounding the venues for the forthcoming Pakistan tour of India and hopes that the issue gets resolved in an amicable fashion. With little more than a week remaining until Pakistan arrive in India, the two boards have failed to resolve the issue, as Pakistan are unwilling to play in Ahmedabad due to security reasons.

Mani, who is here to conduct regular meetings with the Indian Board, told The Pioneer newspaper: "This is not the right time to decide the schedule for the forthcoming India-Pakistan series. It is being done in the eleventh hour, I may say.

"The BCCI should have sorted out the TV rights and the tour itinerary a long time ago," he said. "They could not do so because of some legal matters that were pending in the courts. These legal matters have played spoilsport and delayed the work process of the BCCI."

Mani denied the presence of any tussle existing between the two boards. "There is absolutely no difference of opinion," he said. "I am told that the BCCI will be announcing the itinerary in the middle of this month. The Indo-Pak series generates tremendous goodwill and both the nations will once again come together to celebrate this great moment. Even I don't want to miss it!"

Not mentioning his favourites for the series, Mani expects the series to be a thrilling contest between the arch-rivals. "It really doesn't matter who are the winners at the end of the series but cricket will be the ultimate champion. And when this happens, the ICC gets benefitted."

With regards to ICC's plan to shift the headquarters from London to Dubai, Mani noted: "From ICC's point of view, it is a big move. But we need some time to resolve this issue. In the next four to five months, we will make it happen."