International Cricket Council (ICC) president A.H.M. Mustafa Kamal has announced his resignation to protest the “denial” by the governing body to let him give away the trophy to the champions in the World Cup and also the “controversial” umpiring during the Bangladesh-India quarterfinal match at Melbourne.
He made the announcement at a press conference here on Wednesday soon after his return from Australia.
Mr. Kamal, who is also Bangladesh’s Planning Minister, said his decision was “final” and “not negotiable.” His resignation was in protest against the “flagrant violation” of the ICC rules and constitution.
Citing the constitution, he said only the president had the right to hand over the trophy to the winners of a match. “I was supposed to present the trophy to the winners after the Melbourne final on March 29. But I couldn’t do that.” He was not allowed to do so because an issue was made out of some of his comments after the Bangladesh-India quarterfinal match.
Kamal, who is a former chief of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, said: “It is not possible to work with those who will violate the constitution. I want to let the people of the world know this.”
Mr. Kamal was critical of the “poor” and “controversial” umpiring decisions in the Bangladesh-India match and said he would step down as president, if needed. In response, ICC chief executive David Richardson said the remarks were “very unfortunate.” Richardson also backed the umpires decisions .
Then, a spat erupted between Mr. Kamal and ICC chairman N. Srinivasan, who presented the World Cup to Australia. Mr. Kamal had earlier threatened to reveal some of the ICC’s “dark secrets” after the spat.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said it was “unfortunate and odd” that Mr. Kamal was not allowed to hand over the trophy. “It looked odd that he was barred from his rightful responsibility,” she was quoted as saying. by newspapers.
She said that had the honour gone to the Australian Prime Minister, instead of Mr. Srinivasan, a controversial Indian cricket administrator, no questions would have been raised.
Ms. Hasina, a lover of cricket, again expressed dissatisfaction with the umpiring during the quarterfinal and said it was normal that anyone could be moved to comment on the level of umpiring during that game. “I don’t see anything wrong in Mr. Kamal commenting over the issue. But the way the ICC handled the situation, especially not to allow Mr. Kamal on to the prize-giving stage, is unacceptable,” she said.
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