English cricketer Monty Panesar excuses himself from KPL after BCCI threats
Karachi
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set aside reported plea of BCCI to stop Kashmir Premier League and said that it has no jurisdiction over the KPL, private TV channel reported Monday.
According to details, Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) had requested ICC to ban KPL, which is scheduled to be played between August 6 to August 16.
Pakistan had strongly condemned India’s effort to ‘politicize cricket’.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said “India’s politicization of cricket cannot be condemned enough”. He termed as “unfortunate and regrettable” the reports where Kashmiri players were denied to share the dressing room with renowned cricket players.
“Depriving young Kashmiri players of the opportunity to share dressing room with big names in cricket is unfortunate and regrettable,” he wrote in a tweet.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also condemned Modi government for pressurizing Gibbs not to participate in Kashmir League.
In a tweet, Fawad Hussain said that this was not the first time that Modi government of India had used cricket for its dirty politics.
Now the ICC has rejected India’s plea to handle the matter saying that it has no right to intervene Kashmir Premier League.
The TV channel mentioned a spokesperson of ICC saying as, “The tournament is not under ICC’s jurisdiction as it is not an international cricket tournament.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the ICC regulation for the sanctioning of an event, clause 2.1.3, states that each national cricket federation shall have the sole and exclusive right to sanction the staging of domestic matches within its territory.
The ICC can interfere only, according to clause 2.1.4, if matches are to be held in the territory of an associate member’s territory.
Meanwhile, Following the threats from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England’s veteran spinner Monty Panesar has excused himself from participating in the Kashmir Premier League (KPL).
Taking to Twitter, Monty Panesar confirmed that he has decided not to participate in the KPL. The former left-arm spinner feared he would have to face the grave consequences if he participates in KPL.
Exposing India’s ugly face, he said that BCCI has warned all the cricket boards that their player may not get entry into India, as well as work if they participate in KPL.
Monty Panesar said, “I have decided not to participate in the KPL because of the political tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issues.”
“I don’t want to be in the middle of this, it would make me feel uncomfortable,” he added.
Panesar further said that the English board has told him that he would not get an Indian visa if he plays KPL. “It is very difficult for me to play KPL in this situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kashmir Premier League, sharing a video statement of Monty Panesar on its official Twitter account, said that he fears grave consequences if he participates in KPL as India has warned cricket boards that their player may not get entry into India if they participate in KPL.
