The four-nation tournament that Pakistan and India were planning to host early next year "is as good as written off", Pakistan Cricket Board Director, Brigadier Munnawar Rana, told the Press Trust of India on Tuesday.

"It has little relevance after India decided to opt out from Asian Test Championship in order to avoid playing Pakistan," Rana said.

The Indian government had earlier denied their team permission to play Pakistan in Pakistan. Pakistan Cricket Board chief Tauqir Zia reacted strongly to the decision announcing that no India-Pakistan matches will take place until India tours Pakistan.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously agreed to jointly host the tournament at the Asian Cricket Council meeting.

A tri-series featuring India, Pakistan and Bangladesh which was scheduled to be held in Dhaka might also now be cancelled. The tournament was planned to be held from December 23, 2001 to January 12, 2002.

Former Pakistan captain Rameez Raja had only on Monday predicted such an outcome. He had told reporters in Delhi that as far as he was concerned India-Pakistan matches were not going to take place in the immediate future. "Not in the near future... It's a sad story... (Indian) Cricket Board is a toothless body. They want to play but are not being let to play. The problem before us in Pakistan (cricket establishment) is whom do we talk to (in India to resume cricket ties)."

© Cricinfo