In a swift response, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made it very clear to former Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that any International cricketer participating in Pakistan sponsored Kashmir Premier League will not be allowed to enter India and participate in any of form Cricket tournament.
“While one can neither confirm or deny the veracity of the statement made by a former player who has figured in a CBI investigation into match-fixing earlier, the PCB must understand that even if Gibb’s statement is assumed to be true, the BCCI would be well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India. The fact that the Indian cricketing ecosystem is the most sought after for cricketing opportunities globally, should not be envied by the PCB,” a BCCI official told ANI.
“PCB is coming across as confused. Just the way the decision to not allow players of Pakistani origin to participate in the IPL cannot be construed as interfering in the internal affairs of an ICC member, the decision, if any, to allow or disallow anyone from participating in any manner with cricket within India is purely an internal matter of the BCCI,” the official added.
The BCCI made it very clear that it is well within its rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in the country and Pakistan Cricket Board has every right to take up the matter with the International Cricket Council. However, it is very clear what is the true intention of the Pakistan board in behaving this way, and what is motivating their actions.
“They are welcome to raise the matter at the ICC and one can understand where this is coming from but the question that they need to ask themselves is whether it is on account of government interference in their working since the PM of Pakistan is officially their Patron as per their own constitution. It is time to consider whether this issue also ought to be raised at the ICC,” said the official.
However, Gibbs criticised the Indian board for allegedly stopping him to play in the Kashmir Premier League, and in a tweet he said, “Completely unnecessary of the @BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the @kpl_20. Also threatening me saying they won`t allow me entry into India for any cricket related work. Ludicrous.”
After this, the PCB also issued a statement, saying: “The PCB believes the BCCI has once again breached international norms and the spirit of the gentleman`s game by interfering in internal affairs of the ICC Members as the KPL has been approved by the PCB.”
Not impressed by this statement, the BCCI official added, “The PCB would do well to peruse the ICC`s classification of official cricket. In the eventuality that a retired player is participating as a player in a tournament, it would not quite be official cricket and any permission granted would be moot. I am not really sure how they are reading this to mean what they are intending it to mean, but then the PCB`s positioning is always bemusing. They should allow cricket to entertain rather than their decision making.”
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