ICC president rules out resignation

Mustafa Kamal has ruled out resignation

Dhaka, March 22 (IANS) International Cricket Council (ICC) president Mustafa Kamal has dismissed "rumours" that he was resigning his post.

Kamal had termed the umpiring in Bangladesh's quarterfinal match against India as "poor" and threatened to step down after the match on March 19, reports bdnews24.com.

"It seems the ICC has become the Indian Cricket Council. I am not the president of the Indian Cricket Council," Kamal, who is also the planning minister of the Bangladesh government, reportedly told media after his team's 109-run defeat Thursday against India in the quarter-finals of the ongoing cricket World Cup.

The outcome of the match was marred by several controversial umpiring decisions.

Kamal also said that if ICC did not probe the matter and take measures against it, he would step down as its president.

When news of his resignation spread on social media sites, Kamal's ministry issued a media statement terming the news as "rumour".

The statement said Kamal himself confirmed that he had not resigned from ICC.

Along with former cricketers and analysts, Kamal came down heavily on the "poor" umpiring in the match.

ICC chief executive David Richardson termed Kamal's comments "very unfortunate".

"As an ICC president, he should have been more considerate in his criticism of ICC match officials, whose integrity cannot be questioned," Richardson said in a statement.