The BCCI has won the battle against its Pakistan counterpart after its lawyers persuaded the ICC that the reason behind Indian women’s team not playing Pakistan in the ODI Championship round was clearly a case of not getting necessary approval from the government.
Speaking to IANS, a BCCI official also reiterated the same, saying lawyers representing the Indian board put out the true picture and the parent body understood the scenario.
“Our lawyers explained to the ICC that for every tournament, we take the permission of the government and it isn’t just about playing Pakistan. So, if we don’t get clearance from the government, how can we play them? It was just about explaining the scenario,” the official said.
With this development, the technical committee of ICC decided that teams will share points in all three series in the ICC Women’s Championship that did not take place during the competition window. As a result, India on Wednesday (April 15) qualified for the 2021 Women’s World Cup.
The India-Pakistan series was originally slated to be held between July and November 2019 in the sixth round of the competition.
“With respect to the India vs Pakistan series, the TC concluded that the series could not be played because of a Force Majeure event after the BCCI demonstrated that it was unable to obtain the necessary government clearances to allow India to participate in the bilateral series against Pakistan, which forms a part of the ICC Women’s Championship,” ICC’s media statement read.
Earlier this week, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani insisted the board isn't as much dependant on its neighbouring counterpart BCCI's agreement to resume ties as is widely believed.
Mani said the PCB is taking a lot of confidence from the recent return of regular international cricket in Pakistan, with his regime also in talks with various other boards for multiple home series in future.
“We have suffered losses but they (India) are not in our thinking or planning. It is like a Pie in the Sky situation. We have to live without them and we don’t need them to survive,” he said in a video podcast released by the PCB.
“I am clear if India doesn’t want to play we have to plan without them. Once or twice they have made promises to play against us but pulled out at the last moment.”
(With IANS inputs)
