Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take “strong action” against India for wearing special army caps as the mark of tribute to the soldiers killed in the Pulwama terrorist attack last month.
On Friday, Team Indian was seen wearing the camouflage caps, bearing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) logo, during the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi on Friday. PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, speaking to reporters, asked the ICC to take “strong action” against India, saying “we believe that cricket and sports should not be used for politics”.
As per the reports in Reuters, Ehsan said, “We believe that cricket and sports should not be used for politics and we have said this very clearly. Their (India) credibility in the cricketing world has gone down very badly.”
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Mani said the ICC had in the past acted against England all-rounder Moeen Ali and South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir for breaching ICC clothing and equipment regulations to make political statements.
The PCB chairman said, “The ICC had taken strong action against them and we have sought similar action against India. The permission they took was for a different purpose but they acted differently. We have been in touch with ICC from day one, sent one letter already and another is being followed up in the next 12 hours. There should not be any ambiguity as we are taking this very strongly.”
According to reports, the move to wear the caps was proposed by former India skipper MS Dhoni, an honorary lieutenant-colonel with the Territorial Army, who distributed them to the team before the start of the match.
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However, some of the recent reports have suggested that the BCCI had already sought permission from the world governing body before Friday’s match. The reports also said the ICC had confirmed the caps were allowed as part of a charity fundraising effort.
Speaking about India’s decision to wear the army caps, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli had said: “This is a special cap, it’s a tribute to the armed forces. We’re all donating our match fees of this game to the families of the martyrs. I urge everyone in the country to do the same and stick to the families of our armed forces.”
