ICC rejects PCB complaint against IPL

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the Pakistan Cricket Board's (ICC) complaint against the Indian Premier League (IPL) for snubbing Pakistani players, saying that it cannot act against a domestic event.

Well-placed sources in the PCB said that Pakistan had written to the ICC complaining about the treatment meted out to the players.

"Unfortunately for the PCB the ICC response was not very positive and the PCB officials are not very happy at the response from the ICC," a source disclosed.

The source said ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has written to the PCB informing that the governing body could not interfere in what was primarily a domestic event.

"The ICC told the PCB that since the IPL was primarily a domestic tournament of the Indian cricket Board it couldn't do anything," the source said.

"The ICC also took the same stance as the IPL that the franchises which bid for the players were also private enterprises and the ICC had no control over them," the source added.

He disclosed that after getting this response from the ICC the PCB decided to let the matter go and adopt a policy of not allowing its players to appear in the IPL or Champions League this year or next year.

A lot of hue and cry was raised here after no Pakistani player found a buyer in the IPL auction with the government also slamming the franchises and the Indian board.

"The fact is that some IPL franchises had wanted to sign on Pakistani players but were getting threats from extremist elements of dire consequences if they took Pakistani players in their team," one source disclosed.

"The franchises approached the IPL governing council to provide security for the Pakistani players but were told that security for players was not the direct responsibility of the organisers.

"The franchises then also wrote to the Indian government but it responded that it was responsible for providing security for only national teams not for individual players taking part in a private tournament," the source said.

He said when the IPL franchises were told they would have to arrange for the security of the players themselves, they decided against bidding for the Pakistani cricketers at the auction.