Former international cricketers are being threatened and warned by the indian cricket board against taking region in the inaugural Kashmir Premier League ( KPL ) cricket tournament, organisers and players have said .
The KPL is scheduled to start from August 6 in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and will be contested by six teams captained by Pakistan ’ s current and erstwhile cricketers – Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim .
On Saturday, erstwhile South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs tweeted that the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI ) warned him against taking part in the league which has been sanctioned by the Pakistan Cricket Board ( PCB ) .
“ 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. besides threatening me saying they won ’ triiodothyronine allow me entry into India for any cricket associate work. farcical, ” Gibbs said on Twitter.

The erstwhile South African batter confirmed the developments to Al Jazeera before adding that “ the message from Mr Shah [ BCCI repository ] was sent to Graeme Smith [ Cricket South Africa ’ s film director of cricket ] who passed it on to me ” .
On Saturday, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif besides alleged that the BCCI was warning cricket boards against allowing their players to take part in the tournament .
“ The @ BCCI warning cricket boards that if there erstwhile players took part in Kashmir Premier League, they won ’ t be allowed entry in India or allowed to work in amerind cricket at any level or in any capacity, ” Latif said .

The BCCI did not respond to Al Jazeera ’ sulfur request for comment .
No Pakistan musician has played in the indian Premier League ( IPL ) since its inauguration season in 2008, while indian players have not been allowed to take function in any foreign Twenty20 league, including the Pakistan Super League ( PSL ) .
Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed its displeasure over reports that the Board of Control for Cricket in India has called multiple ICC Members and forced them to withdraw their go to bed cricketers from the Kashmir Premier League .
In a statement on Saturday, the PCB said “ it considers that the BCCI has brought the game into disrepute by issuing warnings to multiple ICC Members to stop their retire cricketers from featuring in the Kashmir Premier League ” .
“ such behavior from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket and sets a dangerous precession, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored, ” the statement added. “ The PCB will raise this matter at the allow ICC forum and besides reserves the right to take any further carry through that is available to us within the ICC charter. ”

‘It’s all really very strange’

Taimoor Khan, director of cricket operations for KPL, told Al Jazeera that the league was aware of the threats and warnings issued to players via their agents .
“ It has happened, the proof has come out and it ’ s all truly very foreign, ” Khan told Al Jazeera. “ There were messages sent to England ’ sulfur cricketers besides. We ’ ve been told that the players were warned they won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be allowed to travel to India again if they take part in the KPL. ”
In an earlier video recording message on Twitter, Khan termed the developments a sad thing for cricket all over the universe ” .
“ We are monitoring the situation and are in talks with authorities on how to manage this. It ’ s a sad situation for the cricketers, specially the kids in Kashmir who were getting an opportunity to play cricket with not merely the Pakistan stars but besides sharing the dress room with external players and memorize from their experience. ”

An electronic mail from an England and Wales Cricket Board ( ECB ) licensed agent mail to Khan, and seen by Al Jazeera, alleged that a BCCI official called up the ECB and warned that, in addition to travel restrictions, the participating cricketers will not be “ allowed to work in anything indian cricket related ” .
“ The good news is that Gibbs and Tillakaratne Dilshan [ former Sri Lankan cricketer ] will be taking partially in the league, ” Khan added .
“ We are highly grateful to them. They are firm on their stance and fulfilling the commitment they made even though the pressure if enormous on them from the BCCI. ”
Since gaining independence in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir. Both sides claim the region in broad but administer separate parts of it.

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In August 2019, India revoked a special constitutional condition accorded to Indian-administered Kashmir in a act Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said was aimed at increasing growth and bringing the territory into the country ’ s administrative mainstream .
Pakistan opposed the be active, accusing India of attempting to absorb the district without bilateral solution of the ongoing dispute .
It has besides accused India of attempting to change the demographics of the Muslim-majority territory through a new dwelling law, which was passed by Modi ’ south government final year .