11Wickets.com to boycott Kashmir Premier League

Fantasy sports platform 11Wickets.com is set to boycott the inaugural edition of the Kashmir Premier League. The league is set to be played from August 6 to 17, 2021, in Muzaffarabad with six teams – Rawalakot Hawks, Kotli Lions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Overseas Warriors, and Bagh Stallions – battling it out for the trophy.

The franchise-based league has been approved by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and will be conducted in Muzaffarabad, a territory in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has led to some tensions between the cricket boards of India and Pakistan. The neighbor nations have a long political dispute over Kashmir and surrounding areas.

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had even requested the ICC to not recognize the KPL, which the ICC denied intervening into citing it to be beyond their jurisdiction. The entire issue began and hogged the spotlight when former South Africa player Herschelle Gibbs accused the BCCI of threatening him over participating in the league. Later, the PCB issued an official statement alleging the BCCI for wrongful conduct, while an official from the Indian board denied those claims and lambasted the PCB by terming them confused in their claims.

“Completely unnecessary of the BCCI to bring their political agenda with Pakistan into the equation and trying to prevent me from playing in the KPL. Also, threatening me saying they won’t allow me entry into India for any cricket-related work,” Gibbs had tweeted on July 31.

The sovereignty and integrity of India come first: 11Wickets releases statement

“It has always been our mission to make everyone around the world and in India an ardent sports fan. In this endeavor of ours, we have always promoted sports in every form and offering it on our website, 11wickets.com for fantasy tournaments. Unfortunately, this time we have decided to boycott a league going by the name Kashmir Premier League and recognized by Pakistan Cricket Board which is supposed to be held in August 2021 at Muzaffarabad stadium in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.”

“For us as a company, the sovereignty and integrity of India come first and are our top priority. In the past, we have supported sports & cricket in various developing nations like Zambia and Afghanistan by sponsoring and offering those leagues on our platform. Going forward also we will be happy to support cricket & sports in various parts of the world which includes the state of Jammu & Kashmir subject to it is held under the rightful banner of BCCI and India,” 11Wickets.com stated in its media release.