Pakistan will take a final decision on participation in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup after consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to details that emerged on Sunday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi is due to meet theprime minister on Monday. The prime minister is expected to arrive in Lahore today from London.
Sources divulged the PCB chairman will brief the prime minister on matters relating to the T20 World Cup, after which a decision on participation or non-participation will be taken in line with the prime minister’s directions.
Speaking to national cricketers, Naqvi said the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) stance was based on principles. He said Pakistan supported Bangladesh while keeping the fundamental values of cricket in view. He added that Pakistan’s players were talented and that success in any arena depended on teamwork.
Naqvi said politicised cricket served no one’s interests. He said the PCB would fully abide by the decision taken by the Government of Pakistan regarding the World Cup.
It may be recalled that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has formally announced the exclusion of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup and the inclusion of Scotland as a replacement.
According to an ICC statement, consultations with Bangladesh over security concerns continued for three weeks, during which comprehensive security assessments were carried out by both internal and external experts.
The ICC said that, following the review, no verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh team in India was established. As no final response was received from Bangladesh within the stipulated time, a replacement team was included under governance and qualification regulations.
The ICC said Scotland are currently ranked 14th in the ICC T20 rankings, ahead of Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, the United States, Canada, Oman and Italy.
