BCCI wants ICC to intervene in Pak dispute

The Board of Control for Cricket in India's threat to boycott the World Cup, following the government's refusal to allow the team to play Pakistan, is an attempt to get the International Cricket Council to intervene, said an Indian cricket official on Thursday.

The BCCI on Tuesday said it would boycott major events like the World Cup and the ICC Knock-out tournament until the government clarifies its guidelines over which teams it is allowed to play.

The boycott threat came after the BCCI received a government letter saying the team is not to play at "non-regular" venues such as Sharjah and Singapore for the next three years.

"We want the International Cricket Council to intervene on the Pakistan problem," the official, who did not want to be identified, said.

"It (the threat) is a deliberate attempt on our part to shock the ICC. Nobody would contemplate not playing in the World Cup. We can send the guidelines to the ICC and they can't remain silent observers."

ICC president Malcolm Gray said in New Delhi last month that the sport's ruling body would not penalise India for refusing to play Pakistan, but could try to persuade the government to change its mind.

The government had refused to allow the team to play in a tri-nation one-day tournament in Sharjah that also involved Pakistan. It also cancelled last year's scheduled Test tour of Pakistan.

On Wednesday, the government reacted to the BCCI's threat, with sports minister Uma Bharti saying on Wednesday there is no need for it to clarify its guidelines.

She also ruled out any chance of the government changing its decision not to allow India to play Pakistan.

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Mail Cricket Editor