Kamal questions ICC role
Amidst Australia's magical moments in Melbourne yesterday, the International Cricket Council (ICC), in an anti-climax, allowed its chairman Narayanswami Srinivasan to hand over the World Cup trophy to Michael Clarke, a task supposed to be undertaken by its sitting president AHM Mustafa Kamal.
As per the ICC constitution it is the president who is supposed to give away the trophy to the winning captain.
The practice is one that has been followed since the 1999 World Cup. However to the dismay of many in Bangladesh's cricketing fraternity, that opportunity was taken away from the president allegedly due to the ill-advised comments Kamal, a former Bangladesh Cricket Board president, made following the Bangladesh-India quarterfinal.
Kamal, who was not even on the stage during the post-match presentation and also wasn't given a place in the president's box, described the move as unconstitutional.
"According to the constitution it is my responsibility to hand over the trophy. This [move] speaks of the integrity of the institution. I don't want to say much now because there are legal issues here. However once I return to Bangladesh, I will, through the media, let the whole cricketing community know as to what's happening in the ICC," a distraught Kamal told The Daily Star over his cell phone from Melbourne yesterday.
"I would have probably been giving the trophy to the champions today [Sunday] but for that I would have had to betray my country. You all know why I wasn't able to give the trophy. That's because I spoke on behalf of my country; I spoke for cricket; I spoke for the ICC. That is the reason why I couldn't give the trophy," he added.
Earlier Kamal had criticised some questionable umpiring decisions in the quarterfinal clash between Bangladesh and India. He described the umpiring as 'poor' and also accused the umpires of having 'an agenda' during the game. He was particularly harsh on a no-ball decision that went against Bangladesh and also criticised the ICC for churning out phrases on the screens at the ground during the game that supported India.
"I think that the fact that I couldn't give the trophy today [Sunday] won't tarnish Bangladesh's image. On the contrary it will lift our image. The people who have done this job have shown how small they can get," said Kamal.
"I am not against any country. All I did was point out the wrongdoings. There are times when you have to put pressure for the right things to happen. That is what I did," he added.
It was learnt that the decision to usurp Kamal's role was taken during a quickly-arranged 'informal' meeting on Saturday afternoon with Srinivasan, who actually did not like Kamal's outburst but refrained from making any comment publicly, pulling all the strings. According to sources, Kamal was asked to explain about his conduct (outburst) in the meeting and was then asked to leave quite unceremoniously, when his conduct was to be discussed. He was also supposedly asked to provide a written explanation.
Despite communicating with the ICC media manager Samiul Hassan via email, The Daily Star could not get any official response on this sensitive issue.
"This wasn't even an official meeting. I was informed that I had to meet the chairman 45 minutes prior to the meeting. If it was an official meeting then a proper announcement would have been made at the ICC's office," remarked Kamal.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon, who is now in Melbourne, had confirmed that he didn't attend the meeting. He had further confirmed that it was in the meeting that Kamal's role was seized by the ICC chairman.
While Kamal's comments, alleging that the umpires had 'pre-decided' some of their decisions were uncalled for, the recent episode however, further reflects the power dynamics in the ICC. It was an unexpected move that questions the roots of the organisation that governs the system.
Kamal, the first president after the ICC's restructuring, has three months of his one-year term left.
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