BCCI probes into ‘Justice for Kashmir’ banner flying during India-Sri Lanka 2019 Cricket World Cup match

BCCI probes into ‘Justice for Kashmir’ banner: Board of Control for Cricket in India has raised the matter with the ICC.

During the 44th match of the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between Sri Lanka and India at Headingley, India defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets to end the league stage as the table-toppers.

On the back of a 189-run opening stand between Lokesh Rahul and vice-captain Rohit Sharma, India comfortably sealed a 265-run chase. Having scored his fifth ODI century in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against Sri Lanka, Sharma became the first batsman to achieve the milestone in a World Cup.

BCCI probes into ‘Justice for Kashmir’ banner

An infamous incident which happened during the Sri Lankan innings was planes flying over Headingley stadiums carrying alongside banners of ‘Justice for Kashmir’ and ‘India Stop Genocide and Free Kashmir’. While sports and politics are two contrasting fields, such protests at a sporting venue was unexpected and uncalled for.

Banners reading “#Justice for Kashmir” and “India stop genocide & free Kashmir” were flown over Headingley during India’s World Cup clash with Sri Lanka on Saturday.#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/M2GTYnV6O7

— Syed Ali Geelani (@sageelani) July 6, 2019

Citing the same, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) have raised the issue with the ICC (International Cricket Council) stating the incident to be “unacceptable” and “unfortunate”.

“This is completely unacceptable. We have written to the ICC, raising our concerns about what happened in Headingley. If this kind of incident is repeated in the semi-finals, it will be really unfortunate. Safety and security of our players is paramount,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying in an interview with PTI.

ICC issues official statement on the matter

ICC took no time in replying to BCCI’s concern. Expressing their disappointment at the same, ICC mentioned not condoning such messages during a Cricket World Cup.

“We are incredibly disappointed this has happened again. We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

“Throughout the tournament we have worked with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of protest occurring. After the previous incident [during Pakistan-Afghanistan match] we were assured by West Yorkshire Police there would not be repeat of this issue, so we are very dissatisfied it has happened again,” read ICC’s statement.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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