"No indication that any of the matches at World Cup will not go ahead as planned" : Dave Richardson

[Abdullah719]

"No indication that any of the matches at World Cup will not go ahead as planned" : Dave Richardson

New Delhi: Amid speculation surrounding India–Pakistan ICC World Cup 2019 clash owing to the Pulwama terror attack, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Tuesday said it does not foresee any change in the schedule of the mega event starting May 30.

In the wake of the terror attack, former India player Harbhajan Singh wanted the Indian team to call off their June 16 match against Pakistan in Manchester. However, when asked about the matter, CEO David Richardson made it clear that there is no such indication as of now that the match will be cancelled. (ALSO READ: India should not play Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2019: Harbhajan Singh)

“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident and we will be monitoring the situation with our Members,” Richardson said, offering his condolences on the ghastly terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were martyred.

“There is no indication that any (of the) matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will not go ahead as planned,” Richardson said in a statement to PTI.

“Sport, in particular cricket, has the wonderful ability to bring people together and unite communities and we will work with our Members on that basis,” he added.

Even the men who mattered in BCCI said that not playing Pakistan in the World Cup is a “long shot” as of now.

“Harbhajan had shared his point of view but he didn’t clarify what happens if we are again pitted against them in semi-final or suppose final. Does that mean that we will be forfeiting World Cup semi-final or final? So, we are all talking about hypothetical situations,” a senior BCCI official said.

“For the record, India played Pakistan in a World Cup game in England in 1999 edition when Kargil War was at its peak,” the official added.

On Monday, Harbhajan told a news channel: “India should not play Pakistan in the World Cup. India are powerful enough to win the World Cup without having to play Pakistan.”

“This is a difficult time. The attack that has happened, it was unbelievable and it’s very wrong. Strict action will surely be taken by the government. When it comes to cricket, I don’t think we should have any relations with them otherwise they will keep treating us like this,” he added.

Harbhajan said India doesn’t need to revive any sort of sporting ties with Pakistan as a mark of respect for the martyred CRPF Jawans.

“I don’t think India should play the World Cup match against Pakistan. Country comes first and we are all standing behind our country. Cricket or hockey or sports, it should be kept aside because this is a huge thing and repeatedly our soldiers are killed,” the veteran off-spinner had said.

Many affiliated units have removed photos and portraits of Pakistani cricketers with one of the oldest units Cricket Club of India (CCI) leading the way by covering a portrait of Pakistan PM Imran Khan.

Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) have also removed the pictures of Pakistani players.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...orld-cup-2019-will-go-ahead-as-planned-804863

 

[Rana]

So the ICC has pretty much put the ball in India's court. Pakistan do not look like they will forfeit the match. India has to make its decision I suppose.

 

[sshakir411]

Hold on, India is trying to gather some courage.

 

[MenInG]

So seems even ICC not interested in this tamasha.

And the BCCI guys comment on Kargil is also very surprising.

 

[PakPremi]

What happened to Bhaji on cuckooland's remark about India can feed the whole world. Is that ommitted so he does not appear as a fool.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

So seems even ICC not interested in this tamasha.

And the BCCI guys comment on Kargil is also very surprising.

Doesnt wanna lose crucial points, that would invite more critcism.

 

[Misia]

They're should be amendment to icc members rules/constatution forfefitting a match at anytime constitutes not only loss of match but removal from tournament , the penalty should be so hi that no team should even consider it

 

[MenInG]

The India vs Pakistan match at the 2019 World Cup looks to be in serious jeopardy after several calls have been made to boycott the tie in retaliation to the Pulwama attack that saw 40 CRPF soldiers getting martyred. Now former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has called for some decision to be taken on whether the tie will take place at the showpiece event. The 2019 World Cup will be held in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14 and India are scheduled to take on Pakistan on June 16 at Old Trafford.

Shah went on to say that the government will take the final decision on the issue and if they come to the conclusion of not playing Pakistan at the World Cup then BCCI has to abide by it.

“India’s relations with Pakistan at our lowest ebb. I ask COA to immediately call for SGM on deciding on India Pakistan World Cup match. The decision however finally rest with the government. If the government decides, then BCCI will have to abide by it,” Shah told Times Now.

An explosives-laden SUV had rammed into a convoy which was holding 2500 CRPF jawans on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on 14th February. The dastardly attack saw 40 soldiers being martyred while many others got injured on the streets of Pulwama. The blood bath was carried out by a suicide bomber identified as Adil Ahmed Dar of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed. The entire nation was left in a state of shock after the attack and calls were made for stern action against Pakistan.

Indian cricketer Harbhajan had earlier called for India to boycott the World Cup match against Pakistan this year to register protest for the Pulwama attacks. “There is no need for any relations with Pakistan, let alone cricket. Don't play the World Cup match with Pakistan on June 1. Country comes first for all of us and we are all standing with our forces,” Harbhajan told India Today.

Even Imran Khan had addressed the Pulwama attack in a video message on Tuesday when he urged India to provide proof that Pakistan were involved in the ghastly act.

Cricket Club of India, HPCA stadium in Dharamshala, Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Bengaluru have taken down the portraits of Pakistani cricketers including Imran Khan in protest to the attack.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...ys-former-bcci-secretary-niranjan-shah/369001

 

[MenInG]

In the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the debate over whether India should play Pakistan in the ICC 2019 World Cup has fired up, with many former cricketers and those in the powers suggesting for the match to be boycotted. As per Times Now sources, it has been understood that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking to have a chat with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the sidelines of the upcoming ICC meeting in Dubai, especially considering the World Cup match.

The PCB had earlier said that sports and politics should also run separately and it plans to take up the matter with BCCI and the ICC at a scheduled meeting in Dubai later this month. India has put all bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan on hold since the 2008 Mumbai attacks (with 2012 being the only exception) which emerged as one of the biggest incidents of cross-border terrorism. The cricket teams from both countries, however, have continued to play each other in ICC events, having locked horns twice in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy as well as the 2018 Asia Cup.

ICC chief David Richardson also spoke about the speculation going over the match-up between India and Pakistan at the World Cup, suggesting that no alterations will be made in the schedule.

"There is no indication that any (of the) matches at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup will not go ahead as planned," Richardson had said. "Sport, in particular, cricket, has the wonderful ability to bring people together and unite communities and we will work with our Members on that basis."

The ICC quarterly meeting is expected to be held in Dubai from 27 Feb to 2 March. It has been understood that on the last day of the meeting, the PCB will speak to BCCI about the dark clouds looming over India vs Pakistan cricket match at the World Cup.

The development comes in the wake of the Pulwama terrorist attack that took place in the valley on February 14. As many as 40 CRPF jawans were martyred in the suicide bomb blast while several others were left injured. With the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed taking the responsibility of the attack, calls are being made for India to cut all relations with Pakistan, including sports.

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...-during-icc-meet-over-fears-of-wc-snub/369037

 

[Mobashir]

Chahal will probably not play.

Bhaji and Ghambir will not even look the match on TV.

Seriously, these past days, I am just amazed to see how stupid some of these cricketers can be.

 

[big_gamer007]

ICC will be the last ones to know if it happens . They are pretty useless and clueless organisation.

I think the match will go ahead and should go ahead. People have short memory, once elections come close news channels will start focussing on elections and everyone will forget about this attack. It's a shame really human life has very little value in our part of the world.

 

[Rana]

"Exclusive | India vs Pakistan: BCCI reserves right regarding participation in World Cup - Anirudh Chaudhry
Speaking to Hindustan Times, the treasurer cited the Special General Meeting of the board on June 22, 2018 and said that the Indian board was yet to sign the MPA and that gave the BCCI right to decide on whether it will play the arch-rivals in the World Cup.

The Pulwama attack wherein a suicide bomber killed 40 CRPF jawans has seen relation between arch-rivals India and Pakistan hit an all-time low. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised action, cricket fans want Virat Kohli and boys to boycott Pakistan and not play them at Manchester on June 16 in their group game of the 2019 World Cup. While many are questioning if the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) will allow BCCI to do that, treasurer Anirudh Chaudhry answered in the affirmative.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the treasurer cited the Special General Meeting of the board on June 22, 2018 and said that the Indian board was yet to sign the MPA and that gave the BCCI right to decide on whether it will play the arch-rivals in the World Cup.

“The BCCI had resolved at the Special General Meeting that the members participation agreement shall not be executed without the authorization of the general body of the BCCI and the BCCI reserves all its rights regarding the MPA and regarding its participation in any other multi-nation tournament or games not covered by the MPA. That answers your question,” he said.

Another board official told Hindustan Times that in the current circumstance, the BCCI can refuse to play Pakistan as the idea of conceding the match to Pakistan if India doesn’t play comes only after signing the MPA.

“The India board reserves all rights regarding the MPA and that has been the consistent position of the BCCI. Therefore, the BCCI cannot be forced to even play in the World Cup. There may be some provision where if we do not play them in a match, they get the points. But as of now, the BCCI as an organisation has not even given its authorisation of the signing of the MPA and therefore it is free to lay down its conditions regarding Pakistan,” he clarified.

But a state association official said that for India to boycott Pakistan in the showpiece event, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) needs to allow the board officials to function.

“Unfortunately, the CoA chairman does not want to allow the BCCI to function and take decisions of a policy nature. This despite having the authority only on matters of administration and not on matters of policy,” he said.

Earlier, ICC CEO Dave Richardson said that the governing body has no reasons to make any changes to the proposed World Cup schedule and that all matches will be played as planned.

“We haven’t written to the boards as yet,” Richardson said on Tuesday to mark the 100-day countdown to the tournament. “Our thoughts are with the people that were impacted by the incident. And we are monitoring the situation with our members including the BCCI and PCB. Certainly, there are no indications any of the matches, including the Pakistan-India match, will not be played as planned at the World Cup. But as I say we will continue to monitor the situation.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...dh-chaudhry/story-wm6IjV9qP0r45hmEF1UlyN.html

 

[MenInG]

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Wednesday said those demanding Pakistan’s boycott in the upcoming cricket World Cup are “justified” to some extent given that things are not normal between the two countries after the Pulwama terror attack.

Ever since 40 CRPF personnel were killed in what was the deadliest terror strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir, there has been a demand that India should not play Pakistan in the World Cup, which begins May 30 in England.

The two neighbours are drawn to clash on June 16 at Old Trafford and might square off again in the knockout stage.

“I cannot make any comment (on cricket issues) except to say those who are demanding it have some justification. You can see many films and concerts have been cancelled. Things are not normal,” Prasad, who also holds the portfolio of Information and Technology, told ‘India Today’.

“If things are not normal, the jhappiyan-pappiyan (hugs and kisses) issues have always been there,” he said.

However, he refrained from outrightly calling for a boycott of the match and said it is upto the BCCI and the International Cricket Council to assess the situation and take a call accordingly.

“Since it’s an international tournament, the ICC and our Indian cricket board (BCCI) have to take a call after consideration with our security establishment,” he said.

“But I don’t wish away their concern. It’s time to say no. Mr Imran Khan had no word of condolence for those who were killed,” he added, referring to the Pakistan Prime Minister’s address on Tuesday, in which he sought actionable evidence from India while denying Pakistan’s involvement in the attack.

The BCCI has maintained that it would follow the government guidelines on bilateral cricket with Pakistan. The ICC, on its part, said that it does not foresee the World Cup schedule getting affected by the current turmoil.

The prominent voices that have called for a suspension of cricket ties are senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and pacer Mohammed Shami.


Bilateral cricket between the two countries has not been held since 2012. But the two nations have clashed regularly at global meets, the most recent of such face-offs being the Asia Cup games in the UAE last year.

The other fallout of the Pulwama terror attack was Pakistan being ousted from the shooting World Cup which gets underway in the national capital from Saturday. Pakistan’s shooting federation has claimed that its marksmen were denied visas by India.

Also, various state cricket associations across the country are removing or covering pictures and portraits of Pakistani cricketers from their respective facilities. It all started with the Cricket Club of India covering a picture of Imran Khan at their restaurant.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...nkar-prasad/story-dO5fyojipFmMg20P9TiJFL.html

 

[Abdullah719]

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson hopes World Cup will inspire a new generation of fans

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson is anticipating ‘the greatest celebration of cricket ever’ on the eve of the 2019 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Richardson, along with tournament managing director Steve Elworthy and tournament safety and security director Jill McCracken, faced the press on Monday morning at The Oval to outline their plans for the 12th edition of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the first on British soil in 20 years.

The tournament is expected to break new ground in a number of different areas.

There were more than three million ticket applications, with some individual games receiving as many as 400,000 applications.

There will be eight fan zones up and down the country with mass participation events in both Bristol and Cardiff.

The tournament broadcast will go out to more than 200 territories and with an anticipated viewing time of 13 billion hours, plus another billion video views on digital, this will have the largest reach ever for a World Cup.

The ICC Chief executive Richardson said: “Our ambition from the very start has been to make this event the greatest celebration of cricket ever.

“We have talked about three words in that regard: ‘Connecting’, ‘Entertaining’ and ‘Inspiring’.

“Connecting both with existing fans and opening the door to new fans, both in the UK and globally.

“From an entertainment point of view, for me that is really all about the cricket. The new format with the ten best teams in the world, everyone in very good form, means that it promises to be one of the most competitive tournaments ever.

“We want the World Cup to inspire a new generation. We hear so many times about people who came into cricket because India won the World Cup in ’83 or the West Indies in the late 70s.

“Hopefully this will provide an opportunity, in particular to one country who goes away with the trophy but to everyone really around the world.”

The opening party on the Mall in London on Wednesday will raise the curtain on the 2019 tournament before hosts England get us underway at the Oval on Thursday against South Africa.

And tournament managing director Elworthy insists everything is now in place to spread the word of cricket far and wide.

“We want to grow the success of the game both in and outside of the UK,” he said.

“There will be some incredible broadcast figures around, but this also presents a huge chance to get new audiences engaged.
“The demand from a ticketing perspective has been outstanding.

“This has been one of the biggest cricket ballots we have run and the results have been incredible. We have seen more than 110,000 women buying tickets, we have 100,000 under-16s coming to witness and experience the World Cup.

"We have over 200,000 people coming to cricket for the first time.

“The picture that really resonates with me, when we talk about inspiring the next generation is Anya Shrubsole looking over the fence at Lord’s as a youngster who was then a key member of England winning the World Cup in 2017.

“That is what we want the matchday experience to be for our youngster.”

And from a security perspective, McCracken and her team could not be better prepared for the show to get underway.

“This will always be about the cricket,” she said.

“But this is a huge global event that myself and my team have been planning since 2016.

“We were obviously able to use the Champions Trophy and Women’s World Cup in 2017 to test a few things.

“My team has a broad range of skills, they are all ex-police or military service with a huge range of experience in delivering major events.

“Our aim to bring consistency across 11 different venues.

“We work very closely with the police and the intelligence agencies sharing up to date information.

“Our overarching aim is to create a safe environment but without that being oppressive for the public.”