Lahore, Feb.10 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is facing another controversy, with the Cricket Council of the United States of America (CCUSA) sending it legal notice following insult by chairman Ijaz Butt.

Butt had in a press release described the CCUSA as an ‘illegal’ institution, and blamed PCB director general Javed Miandad for wanting to take an illegitimate cricket team to China.

The CCUSA’s legal notice demanded an immediate retraction of statement and an apology from Butt.

“Your defamatory statements expressed in the widely-popular fixed print medium of the ‘Jang’ represent false and unprivileged expressions of negligence and malice. Your actions have directly insulted the wonderful cricket constituents of the venerable PCB,” the notice said.

“Your reference to Mr Miandad working with a non-sanctioned American organisation to try and take an illegal cricket team to compete in China is totally false. Never has CCUSA assembled a cricket team for such purpose. My client demands the retraction of these falsehoods,” the notice, which was through Attorney David Rubin, said.

Meanwhile, PCB’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari said the board would reply to the notice after consulting its legal experts.

“The CCUSA is not an International Cricket Council (ICC) recognised member as earlier cricket’s governing body had written to the PCB, objecting to any association with CCUSA. The PCB had informed Miandad of ICC’s protest and he had clarified not to have any dealings with the CCUSA in an official capacity,” The Daily Times quoted Bari, as saying.

He said the United States of America Cricket Association (USACA) was the only officially recognised ICC member.

According to sources, a number of former Pakistani cricketers, who have now settled America, are allegedly supporting the CCUSA and are currently camping in Dubai from where they wanted to take a team to China.

It may be mentioned that the ICC had officially conducted elections of USACA after large scale bungling was alleged by those involved in the running of the USACA in the past.

Galdstone Dainty was elected as the USACA president in the election held six months back. The ICC had also appointed a CEO of the USACA to run the sport in that country. (ANI)