Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has turned down the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) request to “sever ties with countries from
which terrorism emanates”. According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, “Shashank Manohar, the ICC chairman, brought up the matter towards the end of the
quarterly Board meeting on Saturday and said it would not be possible to follow that proposal”. Following the Pulwama terror attack, in which more than 40
CRPF personnel were killed, the BCCI had written a letter urging the international governing body to cut ties with countries that harbour terrorism.
According to the report, “Amitabh Choudhury, the BCCI’s acting secretary and its representative at the ICC Board, did not bring up the letter during the
meetings. Manohar raised the topic himself, briefing the Board about receiving the BCCI letter and saying that the ICC’s primary duty concerned cricket”.
Last month, Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai had said that the sporting community “needs to ostracise Pakistan” just like South Africa was
banned from international cricket due to the country’s policy on apartheid.
The comments had come following a growing demand that India boycott their clash against Pakistan during the 2019 World Cup, which starts on May 30 in
England and Wales.
The former CAG looked at the bigger picture rather than just one match as there is a possibility that India may have to play them again in semi-final or
final.
“We would be shooting in the foot if we don’t play Pakistan in the World Cup. Our aim should be to ostracise Pakistan as a cricketing nation,” Rai said.
“As I have said earlier, all cricketing nations should sever ties with them,” Rai had said.
Meanwhile in other matters pertaining to the ICC meeting on Saturday, the governing body assured its members of a tight security plan for the 2019 World Cup
in England after the Indian cricket board sought guarantees.
The BCCI had expressed concern about security during the 2019 World Cup in a letter to the ICC after last month’s Pulwama terror attack.
“As you would expect for a global sporting event, the ICC, in partnership with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) has a robust security plan in place
for the men’s Cricket World Cup,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said following board meetings in Dubai.
“We work closely with the authorities in our host countries to ensure that the safety of players, officials and fans is a priority.
“Should those authorities raise the threat level of the event based on intelligence, we will of course uplift our security commitment as appropriate.
“We will continue to work with the ECB and our members throughout the build up to and during the tournament to keep everyone abreast of the situation.”
