#MustafaKamal resigns as #ICC president, makes veiled #attack on Srinivasan, says he has defamed me

New Delhi: Days after he was snubbed from the ICC World Cup final post match presentation, Bangladeshi ICC President Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday resigned from his post and launched an attack at ICC chairman N Srinivasan.

Post the final match between Australia and New Zealand, Kamal said that the game’s governing body denied him of his right to give the trophy at the post-match presentation ceremony of the World Cup final on Sunday.

“I am just sending my resignation to the ICC…I was not allowed to work in line with the ICC constitution and I cannot work with them beyond the ICC constitution,” he said a crowded press conference at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport here today.

Mustafa launched an extraordinary attack on Srinivasan after returning to the country.”These types of people should be away from cricket; these kinds of people are polluting the game. Otherwise cricket will be spoilt. It is my earnest request to the ICC to revisit these things and people should research why I have resigned,” he added.

The trophy was handed over by ICC chairman N Srinivasan, despite the ICC’s amendment of its rules in January 2015 to mandate that ICC president is supposed to give trophies at global competitions. Kamal stirred a controversy when he termed the umpiring in Bangladesh’s World Cup quarterfinal match against India as “poor” and threatened to step down after the match on March 19.

The outcome of the match was marred by several controversial umpiring decisions. Kamal also said that if ICC did not probe the matter and take measures against it, he would step down as its president. When news of his resignation spread on social media sites, Kamal’s ministry issued a media statement terming the news as “rumour”.

The statement said Kamal himself confirmed that he had not resigned from ICC. Along with former cricketers and analysts, Kamal came down heavily on the “poor” umpiring in the match. ICC chief executive David Richardson termed Kamal’s comments “very unfortunate”. As an ICC president, he should have been more considerate in his criticism of ICC match officials, whose integrity cannot be questioned,” Richardson said in a statement.

Bureau Report