Former international cricketers are being threatened and warned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against taking part in the inaugural Kashmir Premier League (KPL) cricket tournament.
The Kashmir Premier League T20 2021 is the first edition of the KPL. Of the six teams playing in the inaugural season, five teams are from Azad Kashmir while the sixth one is from outside the region.
The league is the second T20 competition arranged by the PCB after the Pakistan Super League and is set to play from August 6-17 in Muzaffarabad. The T20 mega-cricket tournament is aimed at promoting Kashmir’s importance and talent at the global level.
What actually happened?
On Saturday, former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs has accused the BCCI of attempting to prevent him from participating in the inaugural KPL. He added that the BCCI had also threatened of denying him entry in India if he participated in the league.
“Completely unnecessary of the @BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the @kpl_20. Also threatening me saying they won’t allow me entry into India for any cricket related work. Ludicrous,” Gibbs said on Twitter.
Reacting to the development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement, saying it would “raise this matter at the appropriate ICC (International Cricket Council) forum and also reserves the right to take any further action that is available to us within the ICC charter”.
The PCB expressed the belief that the BCCI had “breached international norms and the spirit of the gentleman’s game” through its interference in the internal affairs of ICC members.
BCCI response
Later, the BCCI responded to Gibbs’ allegations and the PCB, saying that the Indian board was “well within its rights” to do anything in the best interest of its cricketing ecosystem.
“The PCB must understand that even if Gibb’s statement is assumed to be true, the BCCI would be well within their rights to take decisions with respect to the cricketing ecosystem in India,” a BCCI official told to an Indian news agency.
The BCCI official said the PCB was “confused” and that allowing or disallowing anyone from playing cricket in India was “purely an internal matter” and no different than the restriction on Pakistani-origin players from participating in the Indian Premier League.
Why India is sabotaging KPL?
India has been trying whatever it can to put Pakistan in harm’s way and isolate it globally. It is conniving with likeminded nations at the FATF to portray Pakistan as a country involved in terror financing and money laundering.
It’s no news that India does not want to maintain cricketing ties with Pakistan. However, that India is using its influence to force other cricket nations to avoid Pakistan is simply unethical and unfair.
That sports have the potential to act as an effective diplomatic tool to bring hostile nations closer cannot be denied. It’s highly unfortunate that India is seeking to shut an effective backchannel avenue that promises to play a useful role in peace between the two archrivals.
