The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has slammed former Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), mentioning it is well within their rights to make decisions respecting their country’s cricketing ecosystem.
The BCCI also said that the PCB is coming off as confused when it comes to the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) issue. This comes after former Proteas batsman Herschelle Gibbs criticized the Indian board for allegedly stopping him from playing in the Kashmir Premier League, being organized in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The PCB has accused BCCI of interfering in their cricketing matters, but BCCI has hit back hard at their neighbors.
"While one can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the statement made by a former player who has figured in a CBI investigation into match-fixing earlier, the PCB must understand that even if Gibb's statement is assumed to be true, the BCCI would be well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India. The fact that the Indian cricketing ecosystem is the most sought after for cricketing opportunities globally, should not be envied by the PCB," a BCCI official told ANI.
Indian fans react to PCB's statement against BCCI on interfering in Kashmir Premier League
"PCB is coming across as confused. Just the way the decision to not allow players of Pakistani origin to participate in the IPL cannot be construed as interfering in the internal affairs of an ICC member, the decision, if any, to allow or disallow anyone from participating in any manner with cricket within India is purely an internal matter of the BCCI," the official added.
The official said that PCB is welcome to take the matter with the ICC.
"They are welcome to raise the matter at the ICC and one can understand where this is coming from but the question that they need to ask themselves is whether it is on account of government interference in their working since the PM of Pakistan is officially their Patron as per their own constitution. It is time to consider whether this issue also ought to be raised at the ICC," said the official.
PCB had stated in a statement that the BCCI had breached international norms and the spirit of the gentleman's game by interfering in the internal affairs of the ICC Members as the KPL was approved by them.
Not impressed by this statement, the BCCI official added, "The PCB would do well to peruse the ICC's classification of official cricket. In the eventuality that a retired player is participating as a player in a tournament, it would not quite be official cricket and any permission granted would be moot. I am not really sure how they are reading this to mean what they are intending it to mean, but then the PCB's positioning is always bemusing. They should allow cricket to entertain rather than their decision making."
(ANI inputs)
