Pakistan safe for ICC Champions Trophy: Nasim
Staff Report
KARACHI: Pakistan remains confident of hosting the Champions Trophy in September despite security concerns. Sri Lanka is the alternate host for September’s one-day international tournament – featuring the top eight teams in the world – if a final security report within 10 days of the Asian Cup finishing on July 6 deems Pakistan to be an unsafe venue. “It’s a standard process of the ICC to have a backup venue,” Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf said during a press conference here on Friday.
“I was assured in the International Cricket Council’s meeting by all the members that they intend to participate in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.” Nasim returned Thursday after attending the ICC’s executive board meeting in Dubai. Pakistan is currently hosting the six-nation Asia Cup. New Zealand is also scheduled to tour the country in August. “New Zealand will arrive on August 20 and the series begins August 24,” Nasim said. Karachi – one of the three venues for the Champions Trophy along with Rawalpindi and Lahore – has hosted the majority of Asia Cup matches with India taking on defending champion Sri Lanka in the final Sunday.
“I feel very proud that the Asia Cup is organized in such a nice and peaceful manner,” Nasim said. “It’s a proof that Pakistan is a country where cricket can be played safely.” Australia postponed a tour of Pakistan in March after several bomb attacks in the wake of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in December, and several Australian and New Zealand players have already indicated they may pull out of the tournament rather than play in Pakistan. Nasim said he also appreciated the ICC’s decision to change the result of the Pakistan-England Test at the Oval in 2006 which was originally deemed a forfeit by Pakistan after a ball tampering row. The result is now a draw.
“The ICC and especially the England and Wales Cricket Board showed tremendous generosity in reversing a bad decision,” Nasim said. “The decision shows that if humans can make mistakes, it can be corrected by humans.” Umpire Darrell Hair accused Pakistan of ball tampering and the team then refused to come out to play after tea on the fourth day. The match was awarded to England, the first forfeit in test cricket’s 131-year history. Hair was later banned from the ICC elite umpire’s panel and only returned after completing a “rehabilitation program” last September, when he also dropped a claim of racial discrimination against the ICC in the British High Court. Nasim said that he was not sure whether Hair would officiate in the Champions Trophy. “I leave it to the wisdom of the ICC to do the right thing,” he said.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Pakistan safe for ICC Champions Trophy
