Mustafa Kamal says ICC denied him his rights, to leak out its dirty secrets

AHM Mustafa Kamal has said the International Cricket Council had denied him of his right to hand out the trophy to the champions at the post-match presentation of the World Cup final.

Kamal, the president of the game’s governing body, has also threatened to reveal ICC’s secrets once he returns home.

According to ICC’s amendment of rules in January 2015, the president is supposed to hand out the trophy but in a shocking breach of the constitution, Chairman N Srinivasan presented the trophy to Aussie captain Michael Clarke after the match on Sunday.

Kamal accused ICC of not honouring his rights while speaking to two Bangladeshi TV stations following the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Kamal, who is a planning minister in Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet, is scheduled to return home on Wednesday.

Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Planning Tapas Chandra Bose told bdnews24.com that the minister will speak about the issues at the airport on his return.

Kamal hinted at revealing information about ICC’s managing committee after returning to the country.

"I was supposed to give the trophy today (Sunday). It is my constitutional right. But very unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to do so. My rights were dishonoured," ESPNcricinfo quoted Kamal as saying.

"After I go back home, I will let the whole world know what's happening in the ICC. I will let the whole world know about those guys who are doing these mischievous things," he added.

It all started when a full-toss delivery pacer Rubel Hossain bowled to Rohit Sharma was called a no-ball for height by on-field umpires in the World Cup quarter-final between Bangladesh and India on Mar 19.

Replays, however, showed the ball was below the waist-line and thus legal. Sharma survived with the slice of luck as his pull shot went straight to Imrul Kayes at deep midwicket when he was on 90.

The opener went on to score 137 off 126 balls as Bangladesh lost the match by 109 runs to crash out of the tournament.

The decision sparked huge controversies while protests escalated in Bangladesh.

Kamal, too, had expressed his frustration over the matter and said the umpiring was ‘poor’.

He had also termed the ICC ‘Indian Cricket Council’ and said he would step down as president, if needed, indicating it was a biased decision.

In response, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, in a statement issued the following day, hit back at Kamal for his comments and said the remarks were ‘very unfortunate’.

The statement said ‘the umpire's decision is final’ and that the no-ball decision was a ‘50-50 call’.