The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has requested that the International Cricket Council (ICC) deny the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), which is set to begin on August 6. The matches will be held at Muzaffarabad, with players such as Shahid Afridi, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, and others leading their respective sides.
BCCI About KPL
The BCCI protest appears to be motivated by Kashmir’s position as a border area. Since 1947, India and Pakistan have been at odds with Kashmir. Both countries control sections of the territory and were involved in multiple clashes, which has worsened the political tensions among them. Since 2013, India and Pakistan have not contested a bilateral series in cricket.
Issuing warnings to multiple ICC Members to stop their retired cricketers from featuring in the KPL
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has previously criticized the BCCI for unfairly pressuring international players who wanted to play in the KPL. Herschelle Gibbs, a former South African cricketer, too fired back at the Indian board. Furthermore, Monty Panesar, the former England captain, has withdrawn from the competition in order to excel in sports media in India.
“The PCB considers that the BCCI has brought the game into disrepute by issuing warnings to multiple ICC Members to stop their retired cricketers from featuring in the Kashmir Premier League, further threatening they will not be allowed entry into India for cricket-related work,” the PCB was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Such conduct from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket, and sets a dangerous precedence, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored. The PCB will raise this matter at the appropriate ICC forum and also reserves the right to take any further action that is available to us within the ICC charter,” the statement added.
Tilakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, England’s Matt Prior and Phil Mustard, and Tino Best of the West Indies are among the players who have joined for the KPL. The tournament’s 5 teams were called after cities in the region: Mirpur, Kotli, Muzaffarabad, Rawalkot, and Bagh.
The 6th team is made up of cricketers from other countries. Earlier month, the teams were chosen in a selection. With only 4 days for the league to kick off, most of the supporters are eager to wait and watch what happens next.
