PCB, BCCI chiefs hold talks in New Delhi despite Shiv Sena attack

NEW DELHI (Web Desk) –Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Khan met with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice President Rajeev Shukla under high-security here on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Shukla said this was an informal meeting and not official talks between PCB and BCCI.

The meeting between Khan and Shukla comes after activists of hardline Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena stormed the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Monday. Shiv Sena stormed the BCCI headquarters just prior to a meeting between Indian cricket officials and their Pakistani counterparts to discuss reviving cricket ties between the two nations.

Between 40 and 50 Shiv Sena activists barged into the BCCI head-office at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, shouting slogans against Pakistan and carrying placards saying "Shahryar Khan waapis jao (Shahryar Khan, Go Back)".

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan and PCB Executive Committee head Najam Sethi are in India for meetings with BCCI president Shashank Manohar and top Indian cricket officials to confirm whether the India-Pakistan cricket series will take place in December.

Najam Sethi took to twitter on Tuesday to send out a message of peace. Sethi tweeted: “Message for cricket fans in India and Pakistan. Don’t mix politics with cricket. Play the game and may the better side win”.

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Earlier on Monday, shortly before scheduled meeting of Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan and new BCCI President Shashank Manohar, some 50 members of the Shiv Sena Hindu militant outfit stormed the board’s headquarters at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

The extremists carried saffron flags symbolic of Hinduism and black flags to condemn resumption of Indo-Pak cricketing ties, shouting anti-Pakistan slogans.

Shiv Sena fanatics were holding placard bearing slogan “Shaharyar Khan Go Back”and threatened that they would not allow cricket series between Pakistan and India.

Also read: “Shahryar Khan go back”: Shiv Sena attacks Indian Cricket Board in Mumbai