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India not to face Pakistan in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019?

Calls for a complete cricketing boycott against Pakistan has grown since the Pulwama terror attack which killed more than 40 CRPF personnel.

Mumbai: In what could be a huge blow for the tournament, India have reportedly backed out of their ICC Cricket World Cup round robin match against Pakistan later this year.

According to NDTV, sources state that the Indian government has sent a ‘don’t play Pakistan’ message to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Also read: BJP trying to divert attention from its failure by cancelling match with Pak: Tharoor

Led by former India spinner Harbhajan Singh, calls for a complete cricketing boycott against Pakistan has grown ever since the terror attack in Pulwama last week killed more than 40 CRPF personnel.

The bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries have already been suspended since 2012 and the teams last played a full series in 2007.

Reportedly, there were also options to change the format of the tournament in such a way that the two teams don’t face off at least till the knockout stage.

In the upcoming edition, all 10 teams play each other once after which the top four teams will progress to the semifinal.

Not only that, this move would be a huge blow to the ICC and the tournament sponsors in terms of the financial situations.

The much-talked about rivalry was due to take place in Manchester on June 16.

The BCCI will also bring up this issue during the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting scheduled to take place between February 27 and March 2.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle with agency inputs )
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