Manchester: After anti-India banners were shown from an aircraft a number of times during the India-Sri Lanka group league game in the World Cup, the England and Wales Cricket Board (BCB) in association with local authorities have made the Old Trafford stadium here a ‘No Fly Zone’ for India’s semifinal against New Zealand which will start in a few minutes from now.
The decision has been conveyed to the BCCI by the ECB. “We had clearly stated about the breach of security and also raised concerns about the security of our players. Accordingly, ECB has sent a confirmation to CEO Rahul Johri that Old Trafford air space has been turned into a ‘No Fly Zone’ for the day,” a BCCI official, privy to the development, told this agency on condition of anonymity.
During the India-Sri Lanka game Saturday at Leeds, an unnamed private aircraft flew from Bradford zone with banners like ‘India stop Mob Lynching’ and ‘Justice for Kashmir’ over the Headingly air space on a number of occasions.
This left ICC embarrassed as it was the second such breach of security after another aircraft flew with the banner ‘Justice for Balochistan’ during the game between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A number of fans were evicted after a brawl inside the stadium premises, which is believed to have been triggered by the banner’s display.
PTI