Pakistan to allow cricket team to play ICC World T20 in India

ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) - Pakistan on Friday decided to allow its cricket team to play World T20 in India after former's Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that Pakistani cricket team will be provided with a foolproof security during its stay in India for the mega event, reliable sources in Interior Ministry told Daily Pakistan Global.

"Whoever will come to India for the ICC event will be secured at any cost and Pakistan should also not be worried about security arrangements," Singh said responding to a question while he was talking to newsmen in New Delhi.

Following the statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Sheharyar Khan approached Pakistani Interior Ministry, informing the officials about Indian assurance of security for Pakistani team.

Pakistani Interior Ministry is also expected to issue a formal statement in this regard. After which the Pakistani cricket team will leave for India tonight.

Previously, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said that cricket team will not participate in the World T20 until the Indian government publicly guarantees security for the men and women’s national teams.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also announced that it wanted security assurance from India before it allows the team to travel to the World Twenty20 with its first group match at Kolkata scheduled for next Wednesday.

The ICC has already moved Pakistan’s group match against hosts India to Kolkata on March 19 due to security concerns around playing in the hill city of Dharamsala.

A Pakistani security team visited India to inspect the arrangements made for World T20. The team informed PCB that there were not enough measurements made to meet any extraordinary demonstration in Dharamshala. As a result the PCB approached ICC to get the big match shifted from Dharamshala to any other suitable location.