On Thursday morning, reports emerged that Indian Premier League (IPL) side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will play a three-match series against newly crowned Pakistan Super League champions Peshawar Zalmi in either London or Dubai. The report stated that KKR co-owner actor Shahrukh Khan had called up Javed Afridi, who is the owner of the Peshawar team, congratulating him on his team’s victorious run. The report furthered stated that Shahrukh offered three-match series between the two teams at a neutral venue, if the government of both the nations approved.

However, Kolkata Knight Riders sent out a tweet saying that they will not play unauthorised games or leagues and dismissed the reports as false. They said that there was no communication from their end regarding the issue.

Cricketing ties between both the nations have been suspended due to political tensions. India has repeatedly refused to play a bilateral series with Pakistan. The two countries last played a Test in 2007.