Sharjah: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that it does not foresee any changes in the schedule of the ICC World Cup, commencing in England from May 30.
The announcement comes in the wake of the uproar in India, with some former players, fans and others urging their cricket team to forfeit their match against Pakistan in the upcoming World Cup, due to the Pulwama terror attack.
Leading the chorus to forfeit the match following the terror attack is former Indian player Harbhajan Singh, who wants India to call off their June 16 match against Pakistan in Manchester.
David Richardson, the ICC Executive said there had been no indication that the match would be cancelled.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident and we will be monitoring the situation with our members,” Richardson said, offering his condolences after the terror attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed.
“There is no indication that any [of the] matches at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will not go ahead as planned,” he told journalists.
Richardson urged everyone not to mix cricket with politics.
“Sport, in particular cricket, has the wonderful ability to bring people together and unite communities and we will work with our members on that basis,” he said.
Responding to Harbhajan’s call, a BCCI official said: “Harbhajan had shared his point of view but he didn’t clarify what happens if we are again pitted against Pakistan in semi-final or suppose final. Does that mean that we will be forfeiting World Cup semi-final or final? So we are all talking about hypothetical situations.”
“India played Pakistan in a World Cup game in England in the 1999 edition, when the Kargil War was at its peak,” the BCCI official said.
