Bismah ‘disappointed’ over ICC’s point-sharing verdict
April 29, 2020
Lahore
Women’s cricket team skipper Bismah Maroof has expressed her disappointment over the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to give equal points to Pakistan and India after both the teams were unable to play their ICC Women’s Championship matches due to the latter’s political problems.
Bismah told media during an online session that her team was hoping that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would take the matter to ICC’s dispute resolution committee.
“It is obviously disappointing that we are sharing points despite the fact that we were always willing to play the series but reluctance came from India,” she said.
“I’m sure PCB’s legal team is working on it and we will back whatever they decide.”
Despite the situation, Maroof sees positives for her side.
“India got points without playing any competitive cricket. I am looking to take positives out of this decision that we will get some more matches in the qualifying round,” said the 28-year old cricketer.
Earlier this month, the ICC’s technical committee concluded that the series could not be played because of a Force Majeure event after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) demonstrated that it was unable to obtain the necessary government clearances.
Subsequently, the points were shared equally by both the teams which allowed India to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup and pushed Pakistan to play the qualifiers.
“This would have been easier to accept if we had played some competitive cricket,” Bismah said. She highlighted that Pakistan had no issues on their end.
“Pakistan has always been willing to play. We always kept sports away from politics and it was disappointing that we couldn’t play those matches,” she said.
Meanwhile, when asked of her role model she named India’s captain Virat Kohli. “Kohli is my favorite and you don’t need to explain why he is one’s favorite. His work ethic and consistency makes him a role model for everyone,” she said.
Furthermore, she praised her former teammate and recently-retired Sana Mir had played an influential role in development of women cricket in Pakistan.
“A lot of cricketers grew up under Sana’s leadership. She’s without a doubt a big name in women’s cricket. I believe that she did deserve a farewell match but the present circumstances didn’t allow the PCB to provide one.”
When asked of her ideal team she named Sana as captain and mentioned other players like Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur.—APP
