JOHANNESBURG, Oct 7: South African cricket board has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to concentrate its actions on getting India to play in Pakistan again.

United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) chief executive Gerald Majola made the suggestion while telling daily Business Day here he “rejected with contempt” a report in British newspapers that the ICC forced South Africa to change its mind on cancelling a tour of Pakistan.

Citing security concerns, UCBSA first cancelled the tour and then sent the team to Pakistan after accepting a revised schedule from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that excluded Karachi as one of the venues for the tour.

“I never had one conversation with (ICC CEO) Malcolm Speed during the whole period negotiations about the tour were on. For the ICC to claim that they forced us to tour Pakistan is just rubbish. I take the strongest exception to these claims,” Majola said.

“The ICC had no role whatsoever. For them to now claim victory is just beyond contempt.”

Majola said the changed decision had been a result of constant negotiation with the PCB.

Majola told the Business Day that if the ICC really wanted work to do, it should force India to tour Pakistan.

“They have failed dismally in their efforts to get relations between (the two neighbours) re-established, so now they are claiming that they got us to tour Pakistan. Really, this is all nonsense.”

Earlier reports had indicated that the PCB had contacted the ICC to intervene, threatening to sue the UCBSA for 35 million pounds in lost earnings if the tour did not go ahead.

The tour started last week with the visitors already two down in a five-game one-day series. There will also be two Tests.—PPI