ICC May Drop Pakistani Champions Trophy Venue
Monday, August 11th, 2008
Trophy News From Pakistan
The International Cricket Council said it could drop the Pakistani garrison city of Rawalpindi as one of the three venues for September’s Champions Trophy.
Eliminating Rawalpindi, which adjoins the capital Islamabad, would leave all the trophy matches to be played in the southern port city of Karachi and the eastern cultural capital of Lahore.
“It is a strong possibility that we will reduce the Champions Trophy to two venues but the event will be played in Pakistan,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said during a visit to Rawalpindi Stadium.
Lorgat is leading a high-profile six-man ICC task force which is here to oversee security arrangements for the trophy amid threats of a boycott by some non-Asian teams.
The ICC last month decided to keep the biennial event in Pakistan despite security concerns raised by players from Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa.
The players associations of these countries and FICA had called for a relocation of the trophy over player safety following a series of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
Local media reports said Rawalpindi stadium, where renovation work is well behind schedule, may be dropped.
Lorgat said security could not be assessed at Rawalpindi as it did not host any matches in the recent Asia Cup.
“During the Asia Cup there were no fixtures at Rawalpindi and that didn’t provide us an opportunity to check the security arrangements, so there was no way we can formulate an opinion on Rawalpindi,” Mr Lorgat said.
“We are trying to explore whether we might use only Lahore and Karachi and take a decision soon.”
The taskforce also met security officials, including senior interior ministry officials.
The suicide bombings in Pakistan prompted Australia to postpone their planned tour of the country in March.
Originally Written by the ABC News Staff
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