Vinod Rai still hopeful of passing an international ban on Pakistan despite ICC snub
Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai is adamant that the board is still seeking an international ban on Pakistan despite ICC’s recent snub. At the ICC board meeting in Dubai last week, officials dismissed BCCI's request to sever ties with countries that have strong links to terrorism.
Last Thursday, Vinod Rai revealed that the BCCI is still seeking an International Cricket Council ban on countries that harbour terrorism despite a recent rejection from ICC authorities at the meeting that was held in Dubai last week. Rai, however, was non-committal on whether India will boycott Pakistan at the upcoming 2019 ICC ODI World Cup which is scheduled to be held in England & Wales.
At the board meeting in Dubai, ICC dismissed the BCCI's request to sever ties with countries that have strong links to terrorism through the board did not make a specific reference to Pakistan. India and Pakistan are scheduled to play in the World Cup on June 16 and Rai said there is a process that needs to be followed before the final decision is taken over whether to boycott the game against Pakistan.
"Let the time come. It is still four months away. We have expressed our concerns (over security) and they (ICC) said yes, 'security will be tightened' and everything else. The letter was placed. It clearly says Pakistan. It is a process which goes slow. Have we been able to boycott any of the countries in the Security Council? The process goes on slowly. We have started a process," Rai told PTI sources.
The decision to impose a ban on Pakistan and other countries that allegedly harbour terrorist came after the dastardly Pulwama terror attack, in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed. Following the events of February 14, BCCI wrote a letter to ICC that urged the world body and its member nations to sever ties with countries which harbour terror. The India-Pakistan matter will be among the issues the CoA will discuss with ICC chairman Shashank Manohar in Mumbai later this month.
