On Thursday, In what comes as a major move after the Pulwama terror attack that rocked the entire country Mumbai's Cricket Club of India (CCI) has decided to remove the portrait of former Pakistan cricketer and now Prime Minister, Imran Khan from the collection of various memorabilia that the club holds. Earlier, CCI President Premal Udani had confirmed that they had covered Imran's portrait as a mark of protest and could decide to take it down entirely. The latest development in the matter suggests that the portrait has already been removed.
A senior committee member was quoted as saying "We know which country is behind the terror attack. It was decided that the sentiments of the people of the country were to be upheld and therefore the move to remove his portrait,". The decision comes in the wake of the deadly suicide bomb blast that was carried by a Jaish-e-Mohammed militant in Pulwama. The attack saw 40 CRPF jawans being martyred while several others were left injured.
However, It has also been understood that the club had been getting emails from a section of fans, soon after Khan had become the PM of Pakistan. The committee stood by its tradition of respecting the cricketing credentials and ignored the advice. While Khan is yet to break his silence on the Pulwama attack, his refusal to condemn the act seems to have convinced the CCI change stance on the subject.
To be noted that CCI is a sports-club that houses the Brabourne stadium and has photographs of several past and present cricketers from all countries across the world. As far as the cricketing history is concerned, Imran has twice played for Pakistan against India at the Brabourne Stadium. He even captained the team in a festival game at the venue against India in 1987. He also featured against Australia in a Nehru Cup game in 1989, winning the Man of the Match award.
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