LAHORE (Staff Report) – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar has assured Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan of foolproof security for Pakistani players India-Pakistan World Twenty20 clash later this month.
The much-awaited India-Pakistan World Twenty20 clash seems to be in jeopardy after the government in Indian state of Himachal Pradesh expressed its inability to provide security for the match.
During a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, Mr Manohar assured the PCB chairman that he will make proper security arrangements for the Pakistani team.
The March 19 game is to be played in Dharamsala but its fate is now uncertain after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh wrote to the Home Ministry stating that the state government cannot provide security for the match.
The government’s announcement has left BCCI in a bind with board secretary Anurag Thakur saying that the state should not “play politics”.
Schedule & location of T20 Cricket World Cup ws planned 1yr ago. Allotment of match venues ws made many months ago. @BCCI
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) March 1, 2016
Reacting sharply to Singh’s statement, Thakur, who is also a BJP MP in Lok Sabha, said the state knew of the schedule months in advance and did not specify any such concerns at that time, the Times of India reported.
“The venues of the World Cup matches were decided one year ago, the allotment of matches was decided six months ago. People all over have made bookings and it is not fair to give such statements at the last minute,” Thakur told reporters in New Delhi.
“The Congress-led state government is clearly playing politics. Hundreds of Pakistani athletes were given security during the South Asian Games in Assam, why can’t the Himachal government do the same?” Thakur asked.
On Monday, the Himachal Pradesh Congress had asked the BCCI to either cancel the proposed match or shift the venue.
