Hardening its stance, Pakistan on Wednesday deferred the departure of its cricket team to India demanding “explicit” security assurances.
“Pakistan is still waiting for an explicit assurance from the Government of India about security of its team and Pakistan spectators. Without that Pakistan team is unlikely to participate in the Twenty20 ICC World Cup,” a diplomatic source told The Hindu soon after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the cricket team will not travel on Wednesday.
“It should be clear that we are not satisfied with the security available in Dharamshala for the March 19 match and as a result we are not sending our team for the Twenty20 ICC World Cup, as of now,” Amjad Bhatti, the spokesperson of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told The Hindu.
The uncertainty over the India-Pakistan World T20 match in Dharamshala was cleared on Wednesday when ICC CEO Dave Richardson announced that the match, to be played on March 19, would be shifted to Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“We welcome the decision to shift the venue from Dharamshala to Kolkata, but a final decision to send the team will be taken after we are satisfied of the security arrangement on the ground,” Mr. Bhatti said.
Pakistan’s Twenty20 team was expected to travel on Wednesday for the T20 ICC World Cup but Mr. Bhatti said that the security team, which came to India on Monday, had not sent a positive report on the security situation in Dharamshala.
“We can not take chances. Cricket is far from politics and diplomacy, but can impact ties between two countries,” he said, indicating that the people-to-people ties need more support from the Governments.