Team News Riveting
Islamabad, August 3
Pakistan’s Inter-provincial Coordination Minister Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari on Thursday said they had security concerns regarding the national cricket team travelling to India for this year’s 50-over World Cup.
He said the matter would be raised with the International Cricket Council (ICC). The decision was taken by a committee that was set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month. The meeting was chaired by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
Dawn quoted Mazari as saying, “We have demanded that the ICC should provide us a guarantee for security.” He said the government also had some reservations regarding some World Cup venues and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would put these concerns in front of the ICC for a review.
Pakistan and India have played each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues over the last decade as bilateral cricket remains stalled between the South Asian neighbours due to soured political relations.
In June, the ICC revealed the much-awaited World Cup fixtures, with Pakistan scheduled to play arch-rivals India in a marquee clash in Ahmedabad in mid-October. The schedule for the tournament was released nearly two weeks after the draft schedule of matches was shared with the cricket boards of all participating teams.
However, immediately after the announcement, the PCB stated that it would still need government clearance for any tour to India, including World Cup match venues.
The World Cup is set to be played from Oct 5 to Nov 19.
