Mumbai: There is a concerted Indian move to keep Pakistan out of the cricket World Cup in England. According to India Today news portal, in an internal communication, Committee of Administrators Chairman Vinod Rai has asked Board of Control for Cricket in India CEO Rahul Johri to write a letter to the International Cricket Council asking for Pakistan be kept out of the World Cup.
India hopes to flex its muscle in the ICC to secure a favourable outcome. Johri would be representing BCCI at some of the ICC meets starting February 27, with the COA possibly meeting on Friday to discuss the matter further.
Former Indian cricketer and UP Cabinet Minister Chetan Chauhan, in an exclusive to Aaj Tak, had called for India to put pressure on the ICC to “throw Pakistan out of the 2019 Cricket World Cup”. Incidentally, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday that those demanding Pakistan’s boycott are “justified” to some extent, given that things are not normal between the two countries after the Pulwama attack.
The World Cup begins on May 30 in England and the two neighbours are set to clash on June 16 at Old Trafford. However, Prasad refrained from insisting on a boycott and said it is up to the BCCI and the ICC to assess the situation and take a call.
We had 400,000 ticket applicants for that match: WC Tournament Director.
Meanwhile, amid calls for boycott, the clamour for tickets for the marquee ODI World Cup clash between India and Pakistan has reached a crescendo, with more than 400,000 applicants for the 25,000 seater Old Trafford stadium. ICC World Cup tournament director Steve Elworthy, during a promotional event in London, said that demand for tickets for the Indo-Pak group league clash is way more than Australia vs England game or the final at the Lord’s.
