Monitoring Desk
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over “inappropriate conduct” directed at the national squad during the Pakistan-India World Cup match in Ahmedabad last week.
India steamrolled Pakistan by seven wickets in the Oct 14 blockbuster match to maintain their unblemished 50-overs World Cup record against their neighbours.
The national team was bowled out for 191 in the 43rd over after their batting line-up collapsed in characteristic fashion in the face of Indian bowlers.
To make it even more intimidating for the players, chants by the stadium announcer and the spectators were only to buck up India. So was the case with the music being played at the cauldron-like venue.
When the Men in Green made their way onto the field, a chorus of boos was directed at the team, notably while skipper Babar Azam was speaking at the toss.
Similarly, a widely circulated video showed Indian fans aggressively chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in Mohammad Rizwan’s face as he walked back to the pavilion after his dismissal.
Pakistan fans were effectively banned from the ground after failing to secure visas to cross the border, leaving the arena awash with the blue shirts of Indian supporters.
In the post-match press conference, coach Mickey Arthur did not hold himself from being “brutally honest” about what he felt was a partisan atmosphere.
“It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest,” Arthur had said. “It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event,” he had added.
In response to the criticism, the ICC head said a day earlier that he was confident that India would host an “outstanding” World Cup.
In a statement issued today, the PCB said it had filed a complaint with the sport’s governing body regarding the inappropriate treatment of the players during the match.
The board said that it had also registered a “formal protest” with the ICC regarding visa delays for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistani fans for the 50-over showpiece.
After several delays and repeated concerns by the PCB, Pakistan journalists finally got visas to cover the World Cup last week.
However, fans have been kept in the dark, with reportedly no correspondence whatsoever having taken place between visa application centres and the Indian High Commission regarding their process.
Earlier, the PCB had also approached the Foreign Secretary and raised concerns over delay in visas for Pakistani fans willing to travel to India for the World Cup.
PCB says most Pakistani players have ‘fully recovered’ from fever: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday clarified that most members of the World Cup cricket squad who were suffering from a fever had “fully recovered,” days before Babar Azam’s side meets Australia in a key clash of the tournament.
Local media widely reported on Monday that key Pakistani players Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abdullah Shafique and Usama Mir were suffering from fever and a viral chest infection.
“Some players got fever in the past few days and most of them have fully recovered from it,” the PCB said in a statement. “Those who are in the stage of recovery remain under the team medical panel’s observation.”
The green shirts, who lost their World Cup clash against India on Saturday, face five-time World Cup winners Australia on Friday in Bengaluru.
Afridi, who leads Pakistan’s pace attack, has remained unimpressive in the three matches he has played so far, conceding 139 runs and taking only four wickets.
Meanwhile, Shafique hit an impressive century against Sri Lanka on Oct. 11 while Mir is yet to play a World Cup match this year.
With two wins and a loss so far, Pakistan are placed at number four in the World Cup rankings table. They face a resurgent Australia, who were beaten in their first two games against India and South Africa but managed to defeat Sri Lanka by five wickets on Monday.
