‘Nothing of the sort’: India dismisses reports of FM Dar, Jaishankar talk discussing cricket ties

India’s foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday dismissed media reports of talks between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Indian Minister for External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on resuming cricket ties during the 23rd Shan­ghai Cooperation Organi­sation (SCO) summit.

Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for the SCO summit — the first such visit by an Indian foreign minister in nearly a decade. Over lunch on Wednesday, Jaishankar and FM Dar exchanged a few words. Media reports immediately clai­med that they were talking about cricket, but FM Dar did not respond when Dawn sought confirmation of this account.

The Times of India reported earlier today, citing diplomatic sources, that the two had “casual conversations”. It added that there was a “brief pull aside”, lasting five to seven minutes, between the two in Tuesday’s dinner, during which they were reportedly joined by Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

“A source speaking on condition of anonymity said Pakistan suggested resumption of bilateral cricketing ties as a way of ‘breaking the ice’,” the outlet reported.

The Indian foreign ministry spokesman was questioned in a weekly press briefing today about the accuracy of the alleged development regarding cricket talks to which he said: “Nothing of that sort happened … also the reports that you saw were not accurate.”

Pakistan, who won the last edition of the Champions Trophy in England in 2017, is due to host the February 19-March 9 tournament.

Due to their soured political relations, India have not visited Pakistan since 2008 and the rivals play each other only at multi-team events.

Pakistan also hosted the Asia Cup last year but eventual winners India played all their matches in Sri Lanka under what the organisers called a “hybrid model”. At the time, India said they did not get permission from their government to tour Pakistan.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla said last month the final decision over whether India will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy would be taken by the country’s government.