Ehsan Mani On Inclusion Of Indian Women’s Cricket Team In ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup:
Chairman Ehsan Mani, of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is likely to challenge the recent inclusion of the India Women’s team in the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. The ICC agreed to split the points in the unplayed qualifying series of the ICC Women’s Championship between India and Pakistan in 2019, after the Sourav Ganguly led-BCCI was unable to secure permission from the Indian government to proceed with the series. The points split meant India scored 23 points and qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup, while Pakistan scored 19 and will have to go through the qualifying process.
PCB chairman Ehsan Mani said he was unhappy with the decision while adding that his team including the PCB chief executive, legal counsel, and other head executive’s would review the matter. On Wednesday the ICC confirmed the decision and according to sources the PCB was in touch with the ICC and a full statement is on the cards. However, the significant delay in the review and statement suggests it may be more pacifying than being argumentative. The PCB had tried to engage with the BCCI on the issue of the bilateral series but failed to obtain a satisfactory written or verbal response.
In 2016, the BCCI and PCB failed to organize the India Pakistan Women’s Championship series and the PCB had earned maximum points from the ICC Technical Committee. Nevertheless, the BCCI had at that time failed to present a formal request and the technical committee ruled that the non-participation of the BCCI was not justified.
This time around, despite PCB and Ehsan Mani calling it a ‘bilateral issue,’ the Sourav Ganguly led BCCI engaged in early discussion with the ICC. The BCCI submitted the necessary documents as early as 2018 to avoid facing the ‘Force Majeure’ clause as in 2016.
