There is a lot of drama regarding the upcoming T20 cricket league the Kashmir Premier League. For those who don’t know about this event, it is a T20 cricket league that was founded in 2021 by a private company and is approved by the Pakistan Cricket board. This cricket league will consist of 6 teams. Out of this, 5 teams will be from the Azad Kashmir Territory and one team from the overseas Kashmiris.
This league has not been given international t20 status by the ICC. The first edition of the Kashmir Premier League is scheduled to be held from 6th – 16th August 2021.
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This cricket league will comprise six teams with the cities Koti, Bagh, Mirpur, Rawalacourt, Muzaffarabad, and one other non-Kashmir city. They have signed former retired players such as Monty Panesar, Matt Prior, Phil Mustard, Dilshan, Tino Best, and Herschelle Gibbs.
Kashmir Premier League BCCI And Controversy
The controversy has arisen when Herschelle Gibbs, the former South African player tweeted regarding his displeasure and accusing BCCI of bringing politics to cricket. He said that BCCI has threatened him not to join the KPL, else he won’t be granted Indian Visa and also won’t be allowed to do any business in India related to cricket.
This tweet has stormed the cricket fraternity. PCB has said that they will take this matter to the ICC as this incident is a breach of the ICC’s rules and regulations regarding allowing fair conduct of cricket events by any country. Replying to the tweet from Gibbs, one of the top BCCI members said that BCCI is well within its right to take any action against events which is against the National Interest. They have even approached the ICC not to grant international T20 status to the Kashmir Premier League.
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Pakistan Cricket board members also feel that BCCI should not interfere in matters that are not under their domain. They feel that BCCI forcing the foreign KPL players not to join this league is a clear violation of the ICC charter and they will take action which is under their will. It seems KPL being conducted has also not gone well with the PSL team owners. They feel that an event similar to PSL will affect the commercial space of PSL.
It is not just Herschelle Gibbs who has spoken openly about the role of BCCI in hindering foreign players from joining this cricket league. Yesterday, another player Monty Panesar also tweeted that due to the political pressure from both India and Pakistan, he has decided not to join this league.
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Monty Panesar said that he is planning to start his cricket commentary journey and he expects to get a good contract from India. If he joins KPL, he won’t be allowed to do any business related to cricket in India. In such a situation, it will be a huge loss to his ambition to work in India.
It seems this upcoming cricket league is set to witness more drama due to tensions mounting from both the BCCI and PCB. To recall, both India and Pakistan have been locking horns against each other over the ownership of Kashmir with both sides claiming it to be their part. The cricket ties between both India and Pakistan have worsened with both the countries playing only in ICC events.
