Unfortunate that politics and cricket are mixing: PCB chief Ehsan Mani
Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani has advised India to "learn to keep sports and politics separate". Mani said the whole India-Pakistan World Cup controversy is "unfortunate".
In Short
- PCB chief Ehsan Mani says unfortunate that politics and cricket are mixing
- BCCI in a letter to ICC has urged the cricketing community to sever ties with countries from where terror emanates
- India and Pakistan are scheduled to face-off on June 16 in the World Cup
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ehsan Mani has reacted to Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to write to the International Cricket Council and asking the "cricketing community to sever ties with countries from which terrorism emanates".
The PCB boss said that, "It is unfortunate that politics and cricket are mixing. It is never good for any sport."
Ehsan Mani also quoted South African Nobel peace prize winner Nelson Mandela to Sportstar, when referring to India's call to serve sporting ties with Pakistan.
"Let's paraphrase what Mr Nelson Mandela had once said, 'the voice [of sports] is far reaching than any politician'. Sports has its own role to play. Politics has its own issues. The two should not mix," Mani said.
When asked if Pakistan received any letter from BCCI or is expecting any letter, Mani outright dismissed the idea, saying, "Why should we receive a letter? Of course, we haven't received any letter."
There has been a call from former Indian cricketers and Indian politicians about boycotting Pakistan, with Committee of Administrators looking to get Pakistan ousted from the 2019 edition of the ICC Cricket World.
Reacting to the developments in Indian cricket, Mani said: "I will not comment anything on that. Let the BCCI or the ICC decide anything, then only we can discuss about our plan of action."
"You have to talk to the ICC about that. I won't comment on what Mr Rai has said. We will discuss our plan of action if we hear anything from the ICC. As of now, there has been no communication." the PCB chief added.
The PCB boss was also asked about the International Olympic Committee's decision to revoke the two Olympic quotas from the 2019 Shooting World Cup to be held in Delhi. Mani advised that the decision should be kept in mind when trying to mix "sports and politics".
"You have seen how the IOC has reacted to this as far as shooters are concerned. I guess it is important that we learn to keep sports and politics separate," Mani said.