PAK misses direct WC qualification due to ICC's even stevens verdict

Islamabad:Pakistan women's cricket team captain Bismah Maroof has expressed her disappointment over the ICC's decision to equally split the ICC Women's ODI Championship points for their unplayed series against arch-rivals India. 

"The decision really was disappointing. Because we'd been waiting for a long time to play India and I'm sure our board was working on it. But I remember we weren't able to get a response. It was quite disappointing," Mahroof said in a video conference arranged by the PCB on Tuesday, Cricbuzz reported.

India and Pakistan were supposed to face each other in the sixth of the seven rounds of the ICC Women's ODI Championship 2017-20, the points from which count towards the direct qualification for the 2021 World Cup.

But, with the BCCI unable to procure necessary government clearances for hosting the series, the three ODIs were left out of the roster and the matter referred to the ICC. Earlier this month, the ICC's Technical Committee termed it a "force majeure event", deciding to split the six points between the two equally. 

Consequently, with three additional points, India (23) Pakistan (19) in the direct qualification race at the last minute, joining Australia, England, South Africa and hosts New Zealand for the tournament.

Pakistan will now have to fight their way through the World Cup Qualifiers, slated for July in Sri Lanka pending confirmation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The India-Paksitan matches are always quite hyped and the audience has missed the exciting cricket these contests provide. We've always shown willingness to play against India and it was disappointing that we did not get those matches, because those are really competitive matches, '' Maroof said.

''And we were on No 4 [No 5] in the Championship table. If we would have played and then not made it [automatically], then it would have perhaps been easier for us to accept as cricketers and as a team." she added.

The 28-year-old added that the PCB's legal team is already reviewing ICC's call and may refer the matter to ICC's dispute resolution committee if it deems necessary to do so.(UNI)