ICC right to pull up Pakistan for boycotting Indo-Pak fixture: Rajeev Shukla
New Delhi (PTI): BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla on Monday said the the International Cricket Council (ICC) was right in warning Pakistan of severe repercussions for its selective pullout from the high-profile T20 World Cup contest against India in Colombo on February 15.
Pakistan's decision, conveyed through an official government statement, is being seen as a political protest linked to Bangladesh's removal from the tournament after the world body declined its request to shift matches from India to Sri Lanka on security grounds.
The ICC has already warned Pakistan Cricket Board the a boycott of the marquee fixture could lead to punitive sanctions and said that the decision is not in the interest of the the game in general.
"The ICC has issued a big statement on this subject. It has highlighted element of sportsmanship. We completely agree with the ICC. BCCI will not make any comment until we speak to the ICC," Shukla told reporters here.
The raging controversy was sparked by Bangladesh pacer's Mustafizur Rahman's ouster from the IPL on instructions of the BCCI for unspecified reasons. Bangladesh refused to travel to India after that citing security concerns.
Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor said the game can't be held to ransom like the way it is being at the moment.
"It is pretty disgraceful that sport has been politicised in this way on both sides, frankly. I don't think that Mustafizur (Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman) should have been denied his contract to play in Kolkata. It was most unfortunate intrusion of politics," Tharoor told reporters.
"I think the Bangladeshi reaction was an overreaction but it is also a reflection of the same and Pakistan is trying to show its solidarity with Bangladesh. This whole thing is spiralling out of control.
"I honestly think this is now a wake up call for all concerned to contact each other on an emergency basis, the ICC could be the platform for it - just say, let's call off this nonsense...You can't go on like this forever," he said.
The India-Pakistan clash is the most anticipated fixture of any ICC event, drawing peak global viewership, sponsorship interest and broadcast revenues.
The host broadcaster could incur advertisement revenue losses which could be anything in the range of Rs 200 crore to Rs 250 crore for a marquee game whose 10 second commercial slot can cost up to Rs 40 lakh.
While a walkover would hand full points to India, the ICC retains the authority to impose financial penalties on the PCB.
To get a walkover, the opposition team needs to be present on the ground for the coin toss.
The Indian team will therefore travel to Sri Lanka and Suryakumar Yadav will be walking out for the toss. Once Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha doesn't appear, the match referee will award a walkover and two points to India.
There could also be a host of sanctions awaiting Pakistan, including docking of WTC points, no movement in ICC rankings, top member nations refusing to travel there and last but not the least -- sanctions on participation of players in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against USA on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. All their matches will be played at the SSC ground in Colombo.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Assam govt moves SC against anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera
_vb_90.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): The Assam government has moved the Supreme Court against the Telangana High Court order granting one-week transit anticipatory bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case registered against him for levelling allegations against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife.
The petition was filed on Sunday through advocate Shuvodeep Roy and is likely to be taken up for hearing this week.
On April 10, the high court granted one-week transit anticipatory bail to Khera.
The high court gave him a week's time to file an application before the court concerned and granted him relief with certain conditions.
"Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this court is of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for grant of limited transit anticipatory bail, as his apprehension of arrest appears to be reasonable and supported by material on record," the high court had said in its order.
The conditions were that the petitioner shall be released on bail in the event of arrest on his executing a personal bond for Rs one lakh with two sureties for the like sum each, cooperate with the investigation and make himself available for interrogation as and when required by the Investigating Officer and that he shall not leave the country without prior permission of the competent Court.
The conditions further include that the petitioner shall, within the stipulated period, approach the competent jurisdictional court in Assam and seek appropriate relief and he, being a public figure, shall exercise restraint in making any further public statements in relation to the subject matter of the present case, which may prejudice the investigation, the order said.
The Congress leader on April 5 had alleged that the Assam CM's wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit for the April 9 Assembly polls in that state.
The case against Khera was registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under several sections of the BNS, including 175 (false statement in connection with an election), 35 (Right of private defence of the body and of property) and 318 (cheating).
Khera, who approached the high court on April 7, showed his residential address in Hyderabad. He had requested the high court to release him on bail in the event of his arrest.
_vb_23.jpeg)
_vb_23.jpeg)
_vb_54.jpeg)