BCCI says will follow rules amid reports of ICC warning on refusal to print ‘Pakistan’ on team kits
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday affirmed its compliance with all uniform-related rules amid reports of the International Cricket Council (ICC) warning the board against its alleged refusal to have ‘Pakistan’ printed on its team’s Champions Trophy kits as part of the tournament logo.
The Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan from Feb 19 to March 9.
“BCCI will follow every uniform-related ICC rule during Champions Trophy,” Devajit Saikia, the Indian cricket board’s secretary, was quoted as saying by Indian news agency Press Trust of India.
Earlier today, state broadcaster PTV reported that according to Indian media outlet NDTV, the BCCI was sent a “firm message” from the ICC regarded the alleged hesitation to print Pakistan on its kits.
“It is the responsibility of every team to add the tournament logo to their jerseys. All teams are obligated to comply with this rule,” NDTV reported an ICC official as saying.
PTV reported that the ICC rejected the Indian board’s contention that it was not keen to have Pakistan written on its team kit as part of its host nation regulation.
“The Indian board has, in fact, been asked by ICC that the Indian team is obligated to have ‘Pakistan’ written on the kit as the nation is the original host for the tournament,” PTV said.
India, due to political strains with Pakistan, has not played any bilateral cricket with Pakistan since 2012-13 when a Misbahul Haq-led squad toured India for a white-ball series.
While no Indian team has toured Pakistan after the 2008 Asia Cup, Pakistan teams in the meantime have been travelling to India for different ICC events.
To accommodate India in the eight-nation Champions Trophy, a two-way hybrid model has been adopted recently by the ICC with the consent of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and BCCI to hold all the Champions Trophy matches involving India in Dubai.
Under the same model, the Green Shirts will also not travel to India for any future ICC event in which India will hold Pakistan’s matches at a neutral venue.
Last week, questions arose about whether the Indian side or their captain Rohit Sharma will come to Pakistan to attend the Champions Trophy opening ceremony event.
On Monday, the PCB allayed fears about the readiness of the venues for this year’s Champions Trophy as it welcomed media for a tour of stadiums in Lahore and Karachi.