Pakistan cricket team director Mickey Arthur opined that the India-Pakistan World Cup match on October 14 in Ahmedabad had the atmosphere of a “bilateral series” rather than a true international encounter.
According to reports, the ICC will review Mickey Arthur’s statement.
Mickey Arthur said after the match, “Look, I’d be lying if I said it did [not affect us]. It didn’t seem like an ICC event, to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event.”
In response to Arthur’s comments, ICC Chairman Greg Barclay appeared to downplay them as the kind of criticism that is typical at such tournaments.
Barclay said, “Every event that we have, there’s always criticisms from various quarters.”
He added, “Let’s see how the whole thing plays out and we’ll go away and we’ll review what could change, we will just take it as it plays out, get to the end of the event. I’m satisfied that it will still be an outstanding World Cup.”
Furthermore, the lack of Pakistani supporters at the stadium was evident, as visas were not issued to any fans for crossing the border. Only a small contingent of Pakistani journalists succeeded in arriving on time to report on the game, accompanied by a restricted number of fans of Pakistani heritage who either reside in or hold citizenship in other nations.
Meanwhile, Barclay defended the organization and management of the World Cup. He is satisfied that things are working well to make this mega event outstanding, unlike previous ICC events.
ICC is slave of BCCI and Indian Lobby. What to expect fair impartial and justified reviews from ICC??. NEVER??.