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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given permission to such a T20 league, which is to be played in the disputed land of India and Pakistan i.e. Ghulam Kashmir. The tournament, being organized in the name of Kashmir Premier League (KPL), is to start from August 6, but before that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approached the International Cricket Council (ICC).
BCCI has written a letter to the ICC regarding the Kashmir Premier League. The BCCI has urged the ICC not to recognize the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), Pakistan’s domestic T20 tournament starting on August 6, as it is being held in Ghulam Kashmir. At the same time, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday expressed its unhappiness over the efforts of the BCCI to interfere in the internal affairs of the PCB.
This was based on reports that the BCCI was in touch with several other full members to prevent players from those countries from joining the league. Former South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, who is expected to play in the league, said on Twitter that he was “threatened that he would not be allowed to enter India for “any cricket-related work”.
However, it has now emerged that the BCCI had also approached the ICC. The basis of the BCCI complaint centers on the status of Kashmir as a disputed territory – and whether matches can be played in such areas – and its central place in the long-running dispute between the two countries. The situation in Kashmir has been the cause of many wars between India and Pakistan ever since India gained independence and became Pakistan in 1947.
Let us tell you, both countries control parts of this region, but control different parts of it. The political and diplomatic relations between the two countries have had their ups and downs over the years and are currently languishing at a prolonged low. In such a situation, organizing the Kashmir Premier League can give a further boost to it. Even the cricket boards of both the countries also follow each other’s political climate.
But this report of Cricinfo also says that it seems that there is not much that the ICC can do about it. Approval for such domestic leagues is given by the full member country in which the tournament is being played, not the ICC. KPL has got PCB approval. There is nothing in any of the ICC rules regarding matches in disputed areas. The KPL is a six-team franchise-model league, approved by the PCB and scheduled to be played from 6 August at the Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium in Ghulam Kashmir.
