Saeed Ajmal seeks ICC role after Shiv Sena attack

LAHORE: Pakistani spinner Saeed Ajmal called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to ensure that politics was kept out of sports. His remarks came in the wake of Shiv Sena attack on BCCI office in Mumbai and chanting of anti-Pakistan slogans, Ajmal said that game should be cleansed of politics. Speaking to SAMAA, he said that ICC should take notice of the Shiv Sena attack. “It doesn’t reflect well on the game of cricket,” he maintained. All-rounder Suhail Tanvir agreed with Ajmal, saying that Pakistan-India series should not be affected by the political tension between the two countries. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday rescheduled talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials after workers of hardline Hindu nationalist party attacked the cricket board’s headquarters in Mumbai. The meeting between PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan and the BCCI Chairman Shashank Manohar would now take place in New Delhi. The BCCI sources said that timing of the meeting would not be disclosed. Sena workers barged into the BCCI office chanting slogans against PCB chief Shaharyar Khan and said they would not allow any cricketing ties with Pakistan. The protesters of hardline Hindu nationalist party were holding placard bearing slogan “Shaharyar Khan Go Back”. Waving black and saffron flags, Shiv Sena fanatics threatened that they would not allow cricket series between Pakistan and India. The hardliner group also threatened Aleem Dar to leave India. Dar is officiating ongoing cricket series between India and South Africa. – SAMAA