In a clear move to take the Government head on, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) today decided not to participate in multilateral tournaments including World Cup and ICC Knock-out series till 'clear-cut' guidelines on playing with Pakistan were announced. Board President AC Muthiah told reporters after its working committee meeting in Delhi that uncertainty prevailed over whether the Government had restrained the cricket team from playing at specific venues or against specific countries too.

"In the absence of clear-cut guidelines in this matter, the Board has decided to play only in bilateral or triangular series involving Test playing countries. We will not participate in tournaments such as Asia Cup, ICC Knock-out series (2002) and the 2003 World Cup because we do not know whether we would be able to play certain sides, like Pakistan, or not," Muthiah said. The Government, in a statement a few days ago, had asked the Board not to send the team to any 'non-regular' venue, like Toronto, Singapore and Sharjah, for the next three years.

The Board's decision came as a surprise because the issue was never mentioned in the Agenda nor was there any talk of it in the days leading up to the meeting. Muthiah said he expected the government to react soon and come out with clear policy guidelines in this regard.

He said the working committee had authorised him to form a small committee under his chairmanship which will meet various senior ministers including the Sports Minister and put across the Board's point of view to them.The announcement overshadowed many other important decisions taken at the meeting.

© PTI