In a telephonic interview, foreign secretary said that it is not that we have forbidden our team from going there. Security is always an issue and we always like to be sure about security when we allow our teams to go there.
I think cricket sometimes becomes an instrument of diplomacy, she said and added that we have seen how cricket matches have been played between India and Pakistan in the past. People in both countries have supported the idea of such contacts.
Rao said this has to be discussed between the cricketing fraternities on both sides and taken forward.
The meeting between the Prime Ministers of two countries at Mohali on March 30 on the sidelines of the cricket World Cup semifinal between the two countries, "has given a new direction" to the bilateral relationship, Rao said in the interview.
Manmohan Singh had invited Gilani to Mohali after India and Pakistan advanced to the World Cup semifinal.
She said that India was open to renewing cricketing contacts with Pakistan.
