Despite great hospitality in India for both the Pakistan Cricket Team and Pak board chief Zaka Ashraf, PCB vs BCCI continues. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC). This time, the complaint is for crowd behaviour in Saturday’s IND vs PAK Cricket World Cup clash and the absence of visa policy for fans and delay in visas for Pakistani journalists.
PCB vs BCCI Continues
Even though many Pakistani journalists have already arrived in India, not all have received the clearance from Indian embassy.
Furthermore, there is no clarity over visas for Pakistani fans. At the moment, there is no visa policy for Pakistani citizens to enter India for Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan Cricket Team have already played three matches without any support from their fans.
Complaint against crowd behaviour
With 1,30,000 Indian fans thronging to Narendra Modi Stadium, the Pakistan Cricket Team was left without any support during the IND vs PAK game. And there were occasional banters and chants against Pakistani team and players.
One incident that caught everyone’s attention was during the toss. When Babar Azam came for the toss, Indian fans booed him and there were chants against the team which were unsportsmanlike. However, it must be noted that India also faced such behaviour from Pakistani fans during ICC Champions Trophy 2017.
But a complete absence of Pakistani supporters at the stands made it a hostile place for Babar Azam & Co. After the match, Pakistan Cricket Team team director Mickey Arthur took a jibe at the ICC & the BCCI, calling the IND vs PAK match looked like a BCCI event and not an ICC tournament.
“It didn’t seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series. It seemed like a BCCI event,” Arthur said.
Pakistan Cricket Team head coach Grant Bradburn also reiterated the absence of Pakistani fans.
“We’re really sad that our supporters aren’t here. They would love to be here. And I’m sure Indian cricket fans would love to have our supporters here as well. So, it was certainly unusual that way,” Bradburn said.
