The PCB has taken "strong notice" of India's use of army camouflage caps during their third ODI against Australia in Ranchi, urging the ICC to take action against the BCCI.
MS Dhoni, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the
Indian territorial army, distributed the caps to the team before the toss. The
move was initiated as a way to pay tribute to those killed in the terror attack
in Pulwama last month. The BCCI had approached the ICC before going ahead with
the plan, and the ICC confirmed to ABOCricinfo that permission had been granted
as it was part of a charity fundraising effort.
"We have strongly taken up the matter with the
ICC," PCB chairman Ehsan Mani told reporters in Karachi. "There is
absolutely no misunderstanding in the ICC about our position. 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."
"There
should not be any ambiguity as we are taking this very strongly. We don't do
politics, neither we do we use cricket for politics"
EHSAN
MANI
India's captain Virat Kohli had explained at the toss in
Ranchi that donning the caps were meant to encourage countrymen to donate to
the National Defence Fund to help with the education of the martyrs'
dependents.
"This is to pay respect to the martyrs of the Pulwama
attack and their families," Kohli said. "All the players have decided
to donate their match fees from this particular game to the National Defence
Fund. I, as the captain of the team, would urge everyone in the country to do
the same, donate how much ever they can to the National Defence Fund and help
in the education and well-being of the families and the children of those who
lost their lives in the attack. So this is a very special cap and a very
special game indeed."
Mani, however, insisted that ICC should take "strong
action" against India, especially as there was already precedent for the
same.
Moeen Ali, the England allrounder, was banned in 2014 for
wearing wristbands bearing the slogans 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' on the
first two days of the third Test against India at The Ageas Bowl. While the ECB
had defended Moeen's stance, describing his actions as humanitarian rather than
political, match referee David Boon had reminded Moeen of the ICC's clothing
and equipment regulations.
Similarly, South African legspinner Imran Tahir was
reprimanded by the ICC for his celebrations during a T20I against Sri Lanka in
early 2017. After dismissing Asela Gunaratne, Tahir went off on one of his
usual celebratory runs before taking off his playing kit and revealing a
t-shirt with an image of the late Junaid Jamshed, a Pakistani pop icon and
latterly religious preacher who had died in a plane crash.
"You have two examples from the past already, where
both Imran Tahir and Moeen Ali were sanctioned for something similar,"
Mani 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 next 12 hours. There should
not be any ambiguity as we are taking this very strongly. We don't do politics,
neither we do we use cricket for politics."
Ties between the two boards have deteriorated sharply in the
aftermath of the Pulwama attack. The BCCI initially wanted to have Pakistan
banned from the World Cup this summer, before deciding to tone that down by
asking the ICC to "sever ties with countries from which terrorism
emanates".
BCCI officials did not bring up the request at a recent ICC
board meeting but it was brought up - and turned down - by the ICC head
Shashank Manohar.
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