Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it doesn't have the authority to sever cricket ties with countries from which "terrorism emanates" while responding to a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI had written to the ICC, requesting the apex cricket body and its member nations to serve ties with countries that harbour terror. The BCCI's letter came after the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 soldiers of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost their lives. Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack on February 14.

"There was no chance that anything like that would have happened. The ICC chairman made it clear that the decision to ostracize a nation is taken at the government level and ICC had no rule. The BCCI knew it all along but still took a chance," a BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
 
The BCCI letter did not make a specific reference to Pakistan, which has been accused of harbouring terrorists by India.

The issue came up during Saturday's ICC board meeting chaired by chairman Shashank Manohar but not much time was spent on it.

The BCCI was represented at the board by acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary.

"So many players from member nations play the Pakistan Super League and they would have never entertained such a request. Yes, security was a concern and it had been duly addressed," the Board official added.

The Indian cricket team is scheduled to play Pakistan in the World Cup on June 16. There have been calls to boycott the clash in the wake of the heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries following the Pulwama attack.

The demand has been made by some of the biggest names in Indian cricket such as Harbhajan Singh and Sourav Ganguly.

However, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) running Indian cricket has so far not taken any decision on the matter, saying that it will seek the government's view.

With PTI inputs