The tension between India and Pakistan has risen to a new high after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, where the Indian army lost more than 45 CRPF soldiers. Pakistan based terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed the responsibility of this attack. Now, the Indian government, as well as public, is raising their voice to boycott Pakistan in the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has prepared a counter if India boycotts them at the World Cup. Both teams are scheduled to lock horns against each other on June 16 in Manchester’s Old Trafford Stadium.
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The matter will come up for discussion at the ICC Quarterly meet in Dubai, starting Wednesday. PCB Chairman, Ehsan Mani, MD Wasim Khan and COO Subhan Ahmad are in Dubai to attend the various meetings and workshops.
“Pakistan’s stance is that if India wants to give a walkover, it can’t do anything about it. But it will pose a question as to what happens if both countries again qualify to meet each other in the knockout stages,” the PCB official said.
The all-important meeting is scheduled to get ahead on Friday and Saturday, where Indian delegation will push their matter ahead. Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote a letter to ICC demanding to ban countries who promote terrorism in the world. They didn’t mention Pakistan’s name but the indication was clear enough to guess.
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Although it has not been named in the letter, BCCI wants other cricket boards to “sever ties with nation from which terrorism emanates”.
The debate to boycott Pakistan divided the whole Indian cricket community into two parts. There are several cricketers who want India to avoid playing their neighbor country even in the ICC events. But at the same time, cricket legends like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev don’t want India to walkover the match.
The PCB is also expected to raise the issue of their captain Sarfraz Ahmed being banned for four matches under the anti-racism policy of the ICC after the reconciliation process had been set into motion and he had apologized to the South African team.
