With Pakistan concerned about the security reasons, they had chose to hold the team and not come to India until Friday where the matter was solved. “We are also seeking the intervention of the Union Home Ministry so that Pakistan team is not allowed to enter India”.
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Pakistan sent a security assessment team to India on Monday after voicing repeated concerns about arrangements, saying there had been threats from Hindu activists.
Cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), has already taken the proactive step of moving the India-Pakistan match from the hill city of Dharamsala to Kolkata.
He told the media that though the departure of the team for India had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the focus of the players now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event.
Pakistan’s senior batsman Younis Khan, who is a member of the inquiry committee, chose to skip the meeting but Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq made his presence felt.
However, Pakistan’s first warm-up match scheduled for 3 PM tomorrow against Bengal has been cancelled.
The team along with ten officials of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) flew to Abu Dhabi from Lahore airport at 3:30am to finally reach Kolkata by 7pm this evening. Khan told the players that the current situation is similar to the conditions in 1999 when the team went on a tour of India and came back victorious.
“Recently, the South Asian Federation Games saw good and enthusiastic participation of all contingents including Pakistan”, Swarup said.
Former champions Pakistan, who lost to India in the final of the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007, begin their campaign with on March 16 against a qualifying team in Kolkata.
The match faces a security threat in Kolkata as well, with the Anti-Terrorist Front of India (ATFI) threatening to dig up the pitch at Eden Gardens on Wednesday. “We are demanding an even-playing field”, he said.
Earlier today, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan said that a detailed report has been sent to the Interior Ministry on the security assurances received from the ICC and the BCCI.
“We are not in a position to give a clearance right now”, Pakistan’s interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told reporters. “We are confident that the ICC World Twenty20 will also be a resounding success in all aspects”.
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“We have seen some outstanding Pakistani teams in the past”.
