Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis on Friday said his side will travel to India with a “positive frame of mind” after being approved by their Interior Ministry to participate in the World Twenty20.
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“Whosoever will come to India will be secured”, Rajnath told reporters in Ghaziabad, near the Indian capital.
The World Twenty20 match between India and Pakistan was moved to Kolkata from Dharamsala following safety concerns, however, Pakistan team’s departure continued to be on hold, pending fool-proof security assurance from the Indian government.
“The High Commissioner also met with the Home Secretary in New Delhi today in which the security arrangements were discussed”, he added.
PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi said the Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Khan had given the green signal based on assurances from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar.
The decision was reportedly made after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was contacted in Saudi Arabia for the final approval.
“The team is completely ready and hopefully they will fly to Dubai either tonight or tomorrow morning and then from there will leave straight for India”, he added. “My point was that if any player felt he would not able to focus on cricket in India in given circumstances he can withdraw from the squad”, Shaharyar told a news conference in Lahore.
“People want to see Pakistan play in the World T20 and we also wanted to send the team”.
He said Pakistan team would not let down the nation in ICC Twenty20 World Cup after painful defeat in Asia Cup T20.
The Pakistan government had been insisting since last week that it would not allow the national team to go to India for the mega-event until the Indian government gave written security assurances because of the Pakistan specific threats in India.
In the letter, the chief minister has also asked Ganguly to convey her message to the ICC and the BCCI.
Earlier this week, the Super 10 fixture between Pakistan and India – scheduled for March 19 – was relocated from Dharamsala to Kolkata for security reasons.
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“Unfortunately, Pakistan is looking for an excuse not to come”, India Board (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur had told CNN-IBN channel earlier on Friday.
