NEW DELHI, Oct 17: Days after the Pakistani cricket team lost their World Cup match against India at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday filed a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) against “inappropriate conduct” of a section of the crowd against Babar Azam’s team.
The World Cup hosts India thrashed Pakistan by 7 wickets to extend their winning streak over their bitter rivals at the World Cup. After the high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan, team director and chief coach, Mickey Arthur opened up about the crowd behaviour at the jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium.
Two days after India’s comfortable win over Babar’s men, the apex cricket board of Pakistan lodged another formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists. Earlier, PCB chief Zaka Ashraf raised serious concerns over the delay in visas being issued to Pakistani fans and journalists for the World Cup.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another formal protest with the ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and the absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans for the ongoing World Cup 2023. The PCB has also filed a complaint regarding inappropriate conduct targeted at the Pakistan squad during the India vs Pakistan match held on 14 October 2023,” the PCB Media said in a statement.
Though the PCB has not specified the nature of complaint, multiple reports suggested that wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was heckled by fans during the match against India. Several fans reportedly shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ multiple times when Rizwan was heading back to the pavilion at the world’s largest cricket stadium. The viral video of Rizwan walking back to the pavilion sparked a huge debate on social media.
PCB’s official response has arrived after several members of the Pakistani squad have recovered from fever in Bengaluru. Babar’s Pakistan side will meet Australia in their next World Cup fixture in Bengaluru on Friday. “Some players got fever in the past few days and most of them have fully recovered from it. Those who are in the stage of recovery remain under the team medical panel’s observation,” PCB’s media manager Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi said.
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Zaka Ashraf who was on a short visit to India, was personally present at the Ahmedabad stadium during the match against India. Sources said Zaka Ashraf returned to Pakistan on Monday and was having a series of meetings with the senior board officials to discuss his visit to India.
“Zaka Ashraf was himself present at Ahmedabad for the match against India and is witness to some incidents which has left him unhappy despite the Indian cricket officials’ hospitality during his stay there,” the source said. He said the chairman was at present only discussing his visit with his senior aides.
Pakistan’s team director and chief coach Micky Arthur had spoken about the crowd behaviour and its impact on his team after the defeat to India and ICC chairman, Greg Barclay, has responded that the sport’s world governing body was doing its best to make the World Cup a successful event.
The source said Zaka was extremely disappointed with the players’ show against India and before returning had told them to forget the Ahmedabad defeat and look forward to their remaining matches.
(Manas Dasgupta)