The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), urging the apex body to not recognise the contentious Kashmir Premier League (KPL).

KPL, due to begin on August 6, is a domestic tournament conducted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

According to a report published in ESPNCricinfo, BCCI's complaint is centered around the status of Kashmir as a disputed territory since all the matches of KPL are scheduled to be staged at the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium in PoK.

See Also: Indian fans react to PCB's statement against BCCI on interfering in Kashmir Premier League

After the independence in 1947, India and Pakistan have been involved in a tussle over Kashmir, which has led to several wars between the two countries. The diplomatic hostilities between the two arch-rivals have also affected the cricketing ties between them.

India and Pakistan haven’t played a bilateral series since 2012-13 while 2007-08 was the last time they locked horns in a Test match.

While BCCI has asked the ICC if a league can be held in a disputed territory like Kashmir, it will be interesting to see if the global body can do anything on this matter. Notably, ICC regulations say nothing about matches being played in disputed territories.

Earlier, former South Africa cricketer Herschelle Gibbs had accused the BCCI of trying to prevent him from taking part in the inaugural edition of KPL.

After Gibbs’ tweet, PCB issued a statement, alleging that BCCI has called multiple ICC Members and forced them to withdraw their retired cricketers from KPL.

“The PCB considers that the BCCI has brought the game into disrepute by issuing warnings to multiple ICC Members to stop their retired cricketers from featuring in the Kashmir Premier League, further threatening they will not be allowed entry into India for cricket-related work,” the PCB said in its statement.

“Such conduct from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket and sets a dangerous precedent, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored,” it said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board also wants to raise this matter “at the appropriate ICC forum”.

(Inputs from ESPNCricinfo)