The PCB has asked the ICC for a final security checklist to help organise the Champions Trophy next year. The ICC executive board, which held a tele-conference in Dubai on Sunday, announced its decision to postpone the tournament, originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan from September 12-28, for a year.
"We have asked the ICC in the tele-conference for a checklist of security to be provided, so that we could assess it during the home series against India in January 2009," PCB's chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi told reporters.
India will be playing three Tests and five one-day internationals as part of the tour.
"Every country has its different list of security demands," Naghmi said. "What we now want is a comprehensive 'things to do' list from the ICC so that we could implement those measures in the series against India."
The ICC had formed a task force last month which toured Pakistan and later visited South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and England to convince players and officials of the four countries to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Labelling the security reservations of the four countries as a battle between perception and reality, Naghmi said: "When suicide bombings happen in Pakistan, of course, those who live thousands of miles away from our country have fears. But even the ICC security team in charge had said the suicide bombings had nothing to do with cricket. We had told the countries to send their representatives and make their own security assessments but unfortunately they had their reservations."
He confirmed that had the Champions Trophy been relocated to Sri Lanka, Pakistan could have boycotted the event. "Not just us, but India had also decided not to take part had the event been relocated," he said.
Naghmi also quoted Tim May, chief of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA), who came to Pakistan to meet with the top security officials, as saying that 'the security arrangements are the best ever offered to cricket'.
The ICC board will be meeting in Dubai on September 11-12 to finalise the the new dates for the Champions Trophy.
Posts
