Pakistan Cricket Board wants ICC to take action against India for wearing Army caps

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani urged International Cricket Council (ICC) to take strong action against Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for wearing Army caps in the third ODI match against Australia in Ranchi.

The Indian cricket team wore the Army caps bearing BCCI’s logo to pay tribute to the slain soldiers in Pulwama attack. The team also donated their match fee to the families of killed CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans. PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, speaking to reporters asked ICC to take strong action against BCCI for involving politics into sports.

“We believe that cricket and sports should not be used for politics and we have said this very clearly," he said. "Their (India) credibility in the cricketing world has gone down very badly," Reuters quoted Ehsan Mani as saying in Karachi late on Sunday.

Mani said the ICC had in the past acted against England all-rounder Moeen Ali and South Africa leg-spinner Imran Tahir for breaching ICC clothing and equipment regulations to make political statements. Ali wore a band which read ‘Save Gaza’ while batting on field. Imran Tahir wore a Junaid Jamshed T-shirt inside his jersey.

"The ICC had taken strong action against them and we have sought similar action against India," Mani added. "The permission they took was for a different purpose but they acted differently.

The BCCI’s decision came after a CRPF convoy of 78 vehicles carrying 2,547 soldiers was attacked by a car bomb in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on February 14. More than 40 CRPF jawans were killed and many others were injured. This was termed as the worst attack on Indian soldiers since Uri attack in 2016.