In an escalation of the row over what is seen as Pakistan’s insidious move to organize a cricket tournament in territory that is at the heart of its decades-old dispute with India, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has written to the game’s apex body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), not to recognize the Twenty20 Kashmir Premier League (KPL).

According to the cricket website Cricinfo, BCCI’s complaint seems to center around the status of AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir) - which India calls Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or POK - as disputed territory and whether matches can be played in such territories. A BCCI official also criticized former South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs - who was years ago subject of investigation in India in a match-fixing scandal involving the South African cricket team - and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), saying the Indian board is well within its rights to take decisions concerning the cricketing ecosystem in the country.

"While one can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the statement made by a former player who has figured in a CBI investigation into match-fixing earlier, the PCB must understand that even if Gibb's statement is assumed to be true, the BCCI would be well within their rights to take decisions concerning the cricketing ecosystem in India. The fact that the Indian cricketing ecosystem is the most sought after for cricketing opportunities globally, should not be envied by the PCB," a BCCI official said.

The official also said that the PCB can take up the matter with the ICC, but in the end everyone knows why the Pakistan board is behaving this way, and what is motivating their actions.

The dispute came to light after  Gibbs took to Twitter on Saturday, and deplored the attitude of the Indian board. "Completely unnecessary of the @BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the @kpl_20."

"Also threatening me saying they won’t allow me entry into India for any cricket-related work. Ludicrous,” he added.  Gibbs has withdrawn from the tourney.

Deploring the BCCI’s move, the Pakistan Cricket Board accused it of bringing the game to disrepute, and said it was “unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s move to hold the KPL in Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK, is being regarded in cricketing circles as the latest disruptor in sports.

According to international policy analysts, under the veil of offering exposure to local talents and help them play alongside accomplished players, Pakistan’s real intention seems to be to create legitimacy for the part of Kashmir it rules by roping in foreign players.

Moreover, AJK/POK and its stadiums have never really hosted much international cricket. The KPL venue Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium  (Narol Cricket Stadium) came up only in 2020, Another cricket venue in the region The Quaid-e-Azam Stadium (Mirpur Cricket Stadium) – that has a seating capacity of 16,000 - has hosted eight first-class matches, and only some Under-19 international matches against Australia in 2007.

The KPL is set to be played from August 6-17.

(SAM)