KAMAL HAD TO MISS PODIUM FOR REFUSING TO APOLOGISE
New Delhi, April 2: Mustafa Kamal was part of the presentation ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup but it was only after his allegations on the integrity of the match officials and his subsequent decision not to retract his comments which resulted in his removal from the presentation party.
Kamal, who resigned as ICC president on Wednesday, was in Australia ahead of the quarter- final stage as an ICC guest and was scheduled to stay in Melbourne until after the final.
He was supposed to be on the podium on March 29 along with the ICC chairman and chairmen of the co- hosts, until he launched an “uncalled for attack” on the match officials following India’s 109- run win over Bangladesh in Melbourne, a top source said.
For breaching his ambassadorial role, bringing the game into disrepute and conducting himself in a manner materially adverse to the interests of the ICC, Kamal could have been dismissed as ICC president well before the final in accordance with the ICC constitution, the source explained.
Nevertheless, the ICC instead of taking the extreme action, took a more than reasonable approach, offering him an opportunity to withdraw his comments and apologise to the match officials.
However, his stubbornness and refusal to retract his comments resulted in an emergency meeting of the ICC board in Melbourne on the eve of the final.
In this March 28 meeting, the ICC board unanimously agreed that the matter was serious enough to be considered at the upcoming board meeting in Dubai at which Kamal would be given a fair opportunity to fully explain his conduct but that in the interim it would not be appropriate for him to join the presentation party at the final, the source said.