BCCI Had Sought Permission From ICC To Let Players Wear Camouflage Caps: Report

Pakistan had accused BCCI and the Indian team of politicising the game after the players donned camouflage caps during the third ODI.

Team India had won hearts all over with their gesture for the armed forces before the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi on Friday (March 8). The Indian players had come out on the field wearing camouflage caps in a tribute to the Indian Armed Forces. The act came days after the Pulwama attack which was carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and had claimed the lives of 44 CRPF personnels.

Since the attack took place, the cricketing fraternity has joined hands with the common mass to condemn the attack and pay tribute to the soldiers. The BCCI has already announced that there would be no opening ceremony for this year’s IPL. Instead, the budget allocated for the ceremony will be given to the family of the martyrs.

The players had also maintained a two-minute silence before the start of the first T20I against Australia.

#TeamIndia will be sporting camouflage caps today as mark of tribute to the loss of lives in Pulwama terror attack and the armed forces

And to encourage countrymen to donate to the National Defence Fund for taking care of the education of the dependents of the martyrs #JaiHind pic.twitter.com/fvFxHG20vi

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 8, 2019

Speaking at the toss before the third ODI, Kohli had also said that the team would donate its match fees to the families of the martyrs. India gesture was praised all over with even the likes of Michael Vaughan and other overseas players backing it. However, the gesture did not go down well with Pakistan as they accused India of politicising the game for their symbolic gesture. Pakistan also went on to ask ICC to take action against Team India.

However, as per a report in The Times of India, BCCI had already taken a permission from the governing body for the same.

“The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had requested permission from ICC CEO Dave Richardson on Thursday to let the players participate in a charity fund-raising effort and wear army caps with the BCCI crest in memory of the fallen soldiers,” the report quoted an ICC source as saying.

Meanwhile, the initiative will become an annual affair whenever an ODI is played on Indian soil just like Australia’s ‘Pink Test’ and South Africa’s ‘Pink ODI’.