Former ICC President asks Pakistan to boycott India in ICC meeting

10/05/2016

Former ICC President Ehsan Mani is miffed about BCCI president Anurag Thakur's 'inflammatory' statements against Pakistan. Mani has asked the ICC to get an explanation from him about the capacity in which he has made those statements, which, according to him, have brought the game into disrepute.

“The Indian Cricket Board president, with his immature and inflammatory statements, has given an opening to Pakistan to plead its case more effectively at the ICC meeting,” Mani said, reported PTI.

India-Pakistan relations have reached new lows after the Uri attacks and India's subsequent retaliation with the surgical strikes. On Tuesday, BCCI chief Anurag Thakur came out all guns blazing against former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad, who had earlier gone on a tirade against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India calling him an “egg” and calling Indians “cowards”, mocking Pakistan's inability to defeat India on the cricket field as well as on the battlefield.

Mani has questioned whether Thakur has made those comments as a member of the BJP or as the president of the BCCI. He said, “Anurag Thakur is a politician and member of parliament of the ruling party and the ICC must ask him to explain in what capacity does he give his statements on Pakistan or any other cricket issue.

“They must ask him to explain his position since the ICC constitution clearly forbade any of its own officials or those of member countries to make statements that bring the game into disrepute and that is what Thakur has done in his statements.”

Mani had earlier advised the PCB to stop playing India in the ICC tournaments. He has urged the Pakistan Board to make their point in the upcoming ICC meeting.

“Now India is talking about not playing us in group stages of ICC events. The truth is that the ICC earns a lot from these Indo-Pak matches in its tournaments and India takes home the lion's share under the big three governance formula. Yet they don’t want to have bilateral cricket ties with us.

“But now it is clear there is a lot of negativity from the Indian cricket board and even otherwise the situation is tense. So this is the best time for Pakistan to make its point at the ICC meeting,” Mani added.

Najam Sethi, who heads the PCB's executive committee, has also revealed that the Pakistani Board is ready with a befitting reply to India’s threats to not play Pakistan in ICC tournaments.

“Yes we have been reading these statements and we will give them a strong response at the ICC meeting,” Sethi said, reported PTI.