SOIRTS KGR: No threat to Pak-India World Cup match: ICC chief

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said there is no threat to the India-Pakistan World Cup match scheduled to take place in a group game in Manchester on June 16, Geo News reported quoting Indian media.

ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said: “For ICC events, all teams have signed a members’ participation agreement, which requires them to participate in all the matches of the tournament and (in case of) any unjustified non-compliance with that provision, the playing conditions will kick in and the points will be awarded accordingly (to the other team).”

The answer was in the backdrop from the rising demands from India to boycott Pakistan at the World Cup in the wake of the Pulwama attack, in which more than 40 paramilitary troopers

were killed.

Following the demand, the Indian Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) had written to the global cricket governing body, urging it to boycott countries from where “terrorism emanates”.

With Pakistan objecting to the move in the ODI series against Australia where the Indian team wore camouflage caps as a mark of respect to the dead paramilitary personnel during the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi recently, Richardson said the BCCI took prior permission for it and there were no politics involved.

“In this case, it was a one-off consent. It was granted subject to the message around the wearing of the caps simply being in sympathy with the people who had lost their lives in the (Pulwama) attack and in particular to help them raise funds for the families of the people who had lost their lives,” the ICC CEO said. “The ICC’s motto is clear. We don’t want to mix politics with sports,” he said.

He, however, said the resumption of bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan depended entirely on the boards of the two countries.