BCCI takes no decision on boycotting Indo-Pak WC match

The BCCI on Friday refused to take a final decision on boycotting Pakistan at the mega event and put the onus on the government

The Committee of Administrators (CoA), BCCI officials and some members of board’s legal department met in New Delhi on Friday to discuss the issues spiralling around the June 16 World Cup face-off against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack. However, the apex board failed to find a consensus over playing against the arch-rivals in the mega event and put the onus on the government.

“16th June (India vs Pakistan match in World Cup) is very far away. We will take a call on that much later and in consultations with the government,” said CoA Chief Vinod Rai after the meeting.

CoA chief Vinod Rai informed that the board will individually urge ICC members to ‘sever ties with any nation that is a terrorist hub’.

“We'll write to ICC expressing our concerns about attacks that took place & that security of players, officials & everybody else must be taken care of. We're telling the cricketing community that in future we must sever ties with nations from where terror emanates.”

Besides this matter, the CoA also announced the cancellation of the opening ceremony of the upcoming Indian Premier League, season 12. Instead, the money will be donated to the families of the Pulwama martyrs.

It was a foregone conclusion that CoA would not take any decision on the matter as the ICC can't ban Pakistan as per rules.

“We can never win a floor Test if we try and pass a resolution to ban Pakistan from the World Cup. We currently don't have the majority in ICC. In fact, ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, in his individual capacity, has more votes than BCCI at the present moment,” a senior BCCI official said.

There were reports that the CoA and the BCCI might approach the ICC seeking Pakistan's ouster from the mega-event in England that starts on May 30. However, even such a move is unlikely to make any difference as there is no provision in the world body's regulations that allow one member to seek the ouster of another.

Cricketers demanding boycott

The call to boycott the match has come from some prominent names in Indian cricket such as senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and former captain Mohammed Azharuddin. However, offering a different view, batting great Sunil Gavaskar has stated that India should not hand over points to Pakistan by boycotting the game. He advocated continued shunning of bilateral cricket ties.