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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over crowd behavior towards their players during the marquee India vs Pakistan 2023 World Cup clash in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on October 14.
India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the one-sided clash. Batting first, Pakistan were bowled out for 191, a total the Men in Blue chased down in 30.3 overs. While Pakistan conceded that India were the better team, in a post-match press conference, team director Mickey Arthur questioned the absence of Pakistan fans at the big game, claiming the match looked more like a BCCI event than an ICC event.
According to ESPNcricinfo, the PCB decided to file a complaint after a number of incidents from the match pertaining to Pakistani players went viral on social media. First, Pakistan captain Babar Azam was booed at the toss. Later, "Jai Shri Ram" chants were directed at Mohammad Rizwan while he was walking back to the pavilion after being dismissed. Some chants were also said to be directed at pacer Hasan Ali.
According to the report, the complaint sent to the ICC has referred to section 11 of the ICC's anti-discrimination policy for international cricket, which deals with spectator behavior.
"The ICC and each of its Members should take such steps as it considers necessary to prevent the occurrence at International Matches played within its jurisdiction or those played as part of an ICC Event (as applicable) of Inappropriate Conduct by spectators and to ensure that any such conduct is dealt with in a timely manner by the Member or ICC (as applicable) or others before, during and/or after the International Match (as may be appropriate)," the section states.
Further, the report stated that, in its complaint, the PCB has also raised the issue of visas not being granted to Pakistani fans and to only a handful of journalists.
A statement from the cricket board confirmed:
"Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has lodged another formal protest with ICC over delays in visas for Pakistani journalists and absence of a visa policy for Pakistan fans for the ongoing World Cup 2023.”
Earlier as well, the PCB had written to the ICC, requesting to expedite the process of issuing visas to Pakistan fans and journalists.
Pakistan’s performance in the 2023 World Cup so far
Babar Azam and company are currently fourth in the 2023 World Cup points table, with two wins and a loss.
Pakistan began their campaign with an 81-run win over the Netherlands and then went on to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets. They, however, could not break their losing streak against India in the World Cup.
Pakistan’s next match in the ICC event will be against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20.
