Pulwama terror attack: BCCI likely to approach ICC for complete ban on Pakistan in World Cup

The upcoming Cricket World Cup could feature either India or Pakistan as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) plans to write a letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) seeking a complete ban on Pakistan from the event.​ After demands from both fans as well as a number of cricketers of boycotting the World Cup match against Pakistan that takes place on 16 June at Manchester, the office of BCCI CEO Rahul Johri is understood to have kept ready a draft addressed to ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, according to a report on The Times of India. [caption id=“attachment_4170631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The letter, which has Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai’s approval, seeks a ban on their arch-rivals or risking the pull-out of India from the tournament. Rai will take a final call on Thursday after going through legal consultations on the matter. The cricketing ties between the two countries have taken a hit since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, with the two nations meeting each other only in multi-nation tournaments such as the World Cup, Champions Trophy and the Asia Cup. This development comes a week after the dastardly suicide attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama, South Kashmir, in which more than 40 members of the Indian paramilitary force were killed. Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the incident, which has led to a complete breakdown in relations between the two nations.