Star Sports should be fair to all teams: PCB chief Ehsan Mani on ‘baap re baap’ Ad

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani has insisted that the controversy surrounding the insignia on MS Dhoni’s gloves will not have any impact on the upcoming clash between India and Pakistan. The arch-rivals will lock horns against each other in a high-voltage clash in Manchester on Sunday (June 16). While the marquee encounter does not need any external factor to become interesting, Dhoni’s gloves have added more spice to the much-awaited game.

The cameras had spotted the Indian Army insignia on Dhoni’s gloves during India’s World Cup opener against South Africa. And in no time it became the talk of the town. The fans across the nation went gaga over Dhoni because of his love for armed forces. However, the ICC was not at all impressed with his gesture and intervened immediately. The apex body asked BCCI to stop Dhoni from donning those gloves. The BCCI threw its weight behind Dhoni at first but had to accept ICC’s final call.

Consequently, Dhoni did not sport the insignia on his gloves when he came out on the field during the clash against Australia. Mani has now assured that Pakistan would not react at all in response to the gloves. There were reports that the Pakistani players wanted to celebrate in a different style after taking wickets against India. However, the PCB shot down their request. Mani has now insisted that the players will only focus on cricket and not any kind of gesture.

“You won’t get any spillover from the Pakistan side. They are there to play cricket, full stop. We don’t need to make gestures. I have always seen cricket as a tool to create goodwill and better understanding. We should keep it like this. It’s a sport. It’s a gentleman’s sport. That’s how it should be,” Mani told The Indian Express.

Ehsan Mani criticises Star Sports:

The PCB honcho also took a shot at World Cup broadcasters Star Sports for their campaign to promote the India-Pakistan clash. Urging the broadcasters to behave as ICC broadcasters and not Indian broadcasters, Mani said: “I think this is for the ICC to take note. Star is the host broadcaster. They are not an Indian broadcaster, they are the broadcaster of the ICC. They should be fair to all teams. That (the teasers) is not part of cricket.”