The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to postpone next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan because four national boards have withdrawn due to security concerns, a Pakistan cricket official said on Sunday.
The governing body’s executive board will decide later on Sunday whether the premier eight-team tournament, scheduled to start on September 12, can still be held in Pakistan or will be relocated.
However, the chances of Pakistan staging the event appear slim after South Africa pulled out on Friday following a meeting with an ICC taskforce set up to brief teams on security arrangements.
Australia, New Zealand and England have also told the ICC they would not be able to send teams to Pakistan in the current situation, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.
”We are firm about not having the Champions Trophy relocated,” the official said. ”But we are expecting the ICC to postpone and reschedule it for a later date.
”Our government is also clear that if the tournament is postponed it will help us to convince these countries that it is safe to play in Pakistan and the event must be held in Pakistan at a later date,” the official said.
Pakistan has faced a spate of suicide bombings in recent months.
Official data shows around 21 suicide or detonated bomb attacks have taken place in different cities of Pakistan this year with the last one in Wah Cantonement outside the capital Islamabad two days ago.
The PCB chief operating officer Shafqat Naghmi said it would do its best to convince the ICC to stage the event on schedule but admitted South Africa’s official withdrawal had not helped their cause. – Reuters