Sena protests force withdrawal of umpire Aleem Dar from India-SA series; Akhtar, Akram pull out of Mumbai ODI

Dubai: The ICC on Monday withdrew Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar from officiating in the remaining two matches of the ongoing one-day series between India and South Africa in the wake of Shiv Sena gheraoing BCCI chief Shashank Manohar forcing cancellation of talks with PCB chief Shaharyar Khan. Dar, a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, had officiated in the first three matches and was also scheduled to umpire in the fourth and fifth ODIs in Chennai and Mumbai on 22 and 25 October , respectively. [caption id=“attachment_2474606” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Aleem Dar. Getty Images[/caption] The ICC made the decision following Monday’s incident in Mumbai where a group of Sena activists stormed the Board of Control for Cricket in India offices, and threatened to prevent the umpire from standing in the fifth ODI on Sunday.   Meanwhile, former Pakistan pacers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar have pulled out from the commentary team for the fifth and final ODI between India and South Africa in Mumbai in the wake of Shiv Sena’s protest. Fearing more such protests, the Akram and Akhtar decided to from the Star Sports commentary team for the October 25 match. Akram’s agent Arsalan Haider confirmed that the pair would commentate during the fourth ODI in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and return to Pakistan on October 23, two days before the Mumbai match. “Wasim Akram & Shoaib Akhtar will not be commentating in the last ODI between #IndvsSA on account of potential security hazard,” tweeted Haider. Manohar and Khan were to discuss the resumption of the Indo-Pak cricket ties. “Under the present circumstances, it will be unreasonable to expect from Aleem that he will be able to perform his duties to the best of his abilities. As such, he has been withdraw and his replacement will be announced in due course,” an ICC spokesman said. Meanwhile BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur had said that Dar’s presence will not be affected by any threat from any group. “There was a possibility of a protest in Saurashtra as well. 50,000 people were supposed to turn up in Rajkot. So I am not going into any threat perception. The fact is that India will also host the T20 World Cup in 2016 and it is the responsibility of every Indian to keep our image of sportmanship alive,” Thakur said. (With PTI inputs)