BCCI Writes To ICC After Anti-India Banners Fly During India- SL Match; Seeks Action Against Pak

Unnamed aircrafts flew over the Headingley stadium with anti-India banners minutes into the match, prompting the BCCI to file a written complaint with the ICC, raising concerns about the security of their players.

A light aircraft tows a banner with the words "Justice for Kashmir" in the sky above the ground during the 2019 Cricket World Cup group stage match between Sri Lanka and India at Headingley in Leeds, northern England, on July 6, 2019. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

New Delhi: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) filed a complaint with the Internationals Cricket Council and has sought a ban for Pakistan, after the incident of anti-India banners over the Headingley stadium during Saturday’s World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka. Unnamed aircrafts flew over the Headingley stadium with anti-India banners minutes into the match, prompting the BCCI to file a written complaint with the ICC, raising concerns about the security of their players. Minutes after the match began, an aircraft carrying the banner ''Justice for Kashmir'' flew above the ground. After half an hour, a similar looking aircraft flew over the stadium with a different banner - ''India Stop Genocide, Free Kashmir''. Midway into India''s run chase, a third aircraft was also seen with a banner - ''Help End Mob Lynching''. "This is completely unacceptable. We have written to the ICC, raising our concern about what happened in Headingley today. If this kind of incident is repeated in the semi-finals, it will be really unfortunate. Safety and security of our players is paramount, a senior BCCI official, who is privy to the development was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. This is second such incident inside 10 days as Afghanistan and Pakistan fans had clashed at the same venue on June 29 after ''Justice for Balochistan'' banner was displayed by an unnamed aircraft that landed at the Bradford airport. A few fans were evicted for engaging in brawl inside the stadium premises. The ICC has zero tolerance for political or racist slogans and expressed their disappointment at another security breach. "We are incredibly disappointed this has happened again. We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup," the ICC said in a statement. Yorkshire, in the north of England, is known for having a sizable Pakistan population with Bradford being their ghetto. "Throughout the tournament we have worked with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of protest occurring. After the previous incident we were assured by West Yorkshire Police there would not be repeat of this issue, so we are very dissatisfied it has happened again," the ICC statement added. It has also been learnt that the air space above Old Trafford in Manchester and Edgbaston in Birmingham will be turned into ''No-Fly Zone'' during the two semifinals on July 9 and July 11 respectively. The ICC has been given assurance by the Manchester and Yorkshire police authorities in this respect. ICC's outgoing Chief Executive Dave Richardson accepted during a recent interaction that even if they have foolproof security, it can never really be enough. Saturday's incident is an indication that local authorities did not do enough as the airspace is their domain. The incident however leaves ICC on the edge since a more dangerous security breach is feared. (with inputs from PTI)