Anti-India banners over Leeds : Unacceptable, says BCCI; writes to ICC

Leeds : Aircrafts flying over the Headingly Stadium with anti-India banners is "unacceptable", a miffed BCCI has said while raising concerns over the safety of its players with an "incredibly disappointed" and red-faced ICC.

In yet another incident with political overtones, planes displaying anti-India banners flew over the Headingley ground during the World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The unsavoury incident has prompted the BCCI to file a written complaint with the International Cricket Council. Minutes after the match began, an aircraft carrying a message 'Justice for Kashmir' flew above the ground.

After half an hour, a similar looking aircraft flew over the stadium with a different banner 'India Stop Genocide, Free Kashmir'. Midway into India's run chase, a third aircraft was seen with a banner 'Help End Mob Lynching'.

"This is completely unacceptable. We have written to the ICC, raising our concerns about what happened in Headingley. If this kind of incident is repeated in the semi-finals, it will be really unfortunate.

Safety and security of our players is paramount," a senior BCCI official, who is privy to the Board's plan of action told PTI.

During the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where clashes broke out between the fans of either nation, jets carrying anti-Pakistan banners unfurled over the stadium here.

The slogans demanded an end to alleged 'forceful disappearances' in the strife-torn Balochistan.

A few fans were evicted for engaging in brawl inside the stadium premises.

The ICC has zero tolerance for political or racist slogans and expressed their disappointment at another security breach within 10 days.