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The Indian cricket government is threatening and warning former international cricketers from participating in the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), organizers and players have said.
The KPL is scheduled to start on August 6 in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and will be competed by six teams captained by current and former Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim.
On Saturday, former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs tweeted that the Indian Cricket Control Board (BCCI) had warned her against participating in a league ordered by the Pakistan Cricket Committee (PCB).
Completely unnecessary for @BCCI to bring its political agenda with Pakistan into equation and try to stop me from playing @ kpl_20. I also intimidate by saying that they will not allow me to come to India for cricket work. Ridiculous, Gibbs said on Twitter.
Completely unnecessary @BCCI bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and try to stop me from playing @ kpl_20 . I also intimidate by saying that they will not allow me to come to India for cricket work. Ridiculous
Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) July 31, 2021
The former South African striker confirmed the situation to Al Jazeera and added that Shah’s message [BCCI secretary] was sent to Graeme Smith [Cricket South Africas director of cricket] who passed it on to me.
On Saturday, former Pakistani captain Rashid Latif also claimed that BCCI warned cricket boards about the participation of its players in the tournament.
@BCCI warning cricket boards that if former players participated in the Kashmir Premier League, they will not be allowed into India or they can work in Indian cricket at any level or at any level, Latif said.
@BCCI warn cricket boards that if former players participated in the Kashmir Premier League, they are not allowed to enter India or work in Indian cricket at any level or at any level.
Gibbs, Dilshan, @MontyPanesar & several others are selected for PC.Rashid (@ iRashidLatif68) July 30, 2021
BCCI did not respond to Al Jazeeras’ request for comment.
No Pakistani player has played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since its inaugural season in 2008, while Indian players have not been allowed to participate in any foreign Twenty20 league, including the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The Pakistan Cricket Commission has expressed its dissatisfaction with reports that the Indian Cricket Control Commission has invited several ICC members and forced them to withdraw their retired crickets from the Kashmir Premier League.
The PCB said in a statement on Saturday that it believes the BCCI has brought the game to a reputation by issuing warnings to several ICC members to prevent their retired cricketers from appearing in the Kashmir Premier League.
Such behavior by BCCI is completely unacceptable against the introductory part of the spirit of cricket and places a dangerous priority that cannot be tolerated or ignored, the statement added. The District Committee will raise this issue in the appropriate ICC forum and also reserves the right to take any action available to us under the ICC Charter.
Everything is really weird
Taimoor Khan, director of cricket operations at KPL, told Al Jazeera that the league was aware of the threats and warnings given to players through their agents.
It’s happened, the evidence has come out and everything is really weird, Khan told Al Jazeera. Messages were sent to the cricketers of England. We have been told that players were warned that they would no longer be allowed to travel to India if they participated in the KPL.
In an earlier Twitter video post, Khan called the development sad for cricket all over the world.
We will monitor the situation and discuss with the authorities how this will be handled. It is a sad situation for cricketers, especially the children of Kashmir, who were given the opportunity to play cricket not only by the stars of Pakistan but also by sharing a locker room with international players and learning from their experiences.
Head of Cricket Operations, @CRICKTKHAN, gives an official statement on the ongoing news about the participation of foreign players in the opening of the CPL.
We assure you that KPL will continue as planned from August 6 to August 17, 2021. #KheloAazadiSe #SRGKPL # KPL21 pic.twitter.com/4xfareeorp
Kashmir Premier League (official) (@ kpl_20) July 30, 2021
An email from a licensed agent of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sent to Khan and seen by Al Jazeera alleged that a BCCI official called the ECB and warned that participating crickets in addition to travel restrictions were not allowed to work in all Indian cricket.
The good news is that Gibbs and Tillakaratne Dilshan [former Sri Lankan cricketer] participates in the league, Khan added.
We are very grateful to them. They are strong in their position and are fulfilling the commitment they have made, even though they are under enormous pressure from the BCCI.
After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, two of their three wars fought over Kashmir. Both parties claim the area as a whole, but manage separate parts of it.
In August 2019, India revoked the special constitutional status granted to Indian-administered Kashmir, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Mod, with the aim of increasing development and bringing the region into the country’s administrative mainstream.
Pakistan opposed the movement and accused India of trying to absorb the region without an ongoing dispute over a bilateral settlement.
It has also accused India of trying to change the population data of the Muslim-majority area with a new law on domicile passed by the Modis government last year.
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