Shiv Sena has been pointing the finger at Pakistan for militant attacks on India.
By Sreekanth A Nair
The International Cricket Association (ICC) withdrew Pakistani Alem Dar from the remaining matches of India-South Africa tournament after Shiv Sena staged a protest outside the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s office in Mumbai.
On Monday, Shiv Sena had threatened to prevent Dar from standing in the upcoming fifth One-Day International (ODI). Adding to this, a meeting between BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan to discuss the resumption of Indo-Pak cricket match had to be cancelled.
Dar, a member of the Elite Panel of the ICC Umpires, had officiated in the first three ODIs and was also scheduled to umpire in the fourth and fifth ODIs in Chennai and Mumbai on 22 and 25 October respectively. He has won ICC’s Umpire of the Year award three times.
“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 As such, he has been withdrawn and his replacement will be announced in due course,” an ICC spokesman said.
Meanwhile, BBCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that Aleem Dar’s presence would 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 sportsmanship alive,” Thakur said.
There are reports that former Pakistani players Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, who have commentary assignments, will also leave after the fourth ODI in Chennai.
Shiv Sena has been pointing the finger at Pakistan for militant attacks on Indian soil and is against the resumption of ties with Pakistan until they stopped cross-border attacks.
Last week, Shiv Sena activists had allegedly smeared black ink on Sudheendra Kulkarni, a former Indian diplomat, for hosting the book launch of former Pakistan minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Mumbai.