No mandate to influence Indo-Pak bilateral ties, says ICC chairman

The newly-appointed Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Greg Barclay, has said that the governing body doesn't hold a mandate or ability to influence the bilateral ties between the two arch-rivals, India and Pakistan.

Commenting about the relationship between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BBCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Barclay maintained that few things are beyond cricket but the international forum will be looking out for the best to continue the cricketing relations between the two countries.

Barclay has been serving as a New Zealand representative on the board of the International Cricket Council before taking over as chairman. Moreover, he has also seen the constant differences between BBCI and PCB in close quarters, read a news report by ANI.

"I would love nothing more than to see India and Pakistan continuing with their cricket relations like previously. I am also enough of a realist to understand that there are geopolitical issues at play here."

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"I think all we can do to bring about outcomes that would see India and Pakistan in a position where they can play cricket regularly against each other and in their territories," the ICC official remarked.

"Beyond that, I do not think I have a mandate or ability to influence the outcomes more than that. That is really done at a level way beyond where we could be operating," Barclay explained.

Ever since tensions between India and Pakistan rose after the BJP government came to power in the country, India has shied away from playing a bilateral series against Pakistan. 

The move has made it so that now, the two Asian cricket giants only face off against each other in ICC events like the Champions Trophy, the World Cup or the Asia Cup.