JOHANNESBURG: Former South Africa cricketer Herschelle Gibbs has claimed that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was “trying to prevent” him from participating in the inaugural Kashmir Premier League (KPL).
Gibbs, who is a part of KPL franchise Overseas Warriors, made the accusation in a tweet, adding that the BCCI has also threatened of denying him entry in India if he participates in the league.
“Completely unnecessary of the BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the KPL. Also threatening me saying they won’t allow me entry into India for any cricket-related work. Ludicrous,” he wrote in a tweet.
Completely unnecessary of the @BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me playing in the @kpl_20 . Also threatening me saying they won’t allow me entry into India for any cricket related work. Ludicrous ????
— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) July 31, 2021
Later, talking to a private sports website, Gibbs said that the person issuing the threat was BCCI Secretary Jay Shah. “It came from Mr Shah. The message was sent to Graeme smith who passed it on to me,” he added.
A day earlier, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif’s made similar remarks. Latif, in a statement, said that the BCCI was “warning cricket boards that if their former players took part in Kashmir Premier League, they won’t be allowed entry in India or allowed to work in Indian cricket at any level or in any capacity.”
The first-ever edition of KPL is scheduled to begin from August 6 and conclude on August 16. It comprises five franchises representing cities of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while a sixth franchise named Overseas Warriors is reserved for overseas Kashmiris.
The T20 league, similar in stylings to the Pakistan Super League, will feature a mix of Pakistan’s domestic and international talent.
Sources said that the BCCI officials contacted the English and African cricket boards and threatened to ban their players from entering India if they participated in the KPL. The English and African boards stopped their players from taking part in the KPL until further orders.
