So, why Pakistan Cricket Board is concerned about it. They wanted their venue to be shifted from Dharamsala to Kolkata that has been done.
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Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the Pakistan cricket team will be provided adequate security during their World Twenty20 campaign in India.
Pakistan’s players were given the option to pull out individually, if any felt unable in the circumstances to concentrate properly as they must in a global tournament.
On Thursday, junior Home Minister Kiren Rijiju promised foolproof security to Pakistan, a country shunned by top teams since a 2009 attack on a bus carrying a visiting Sri Lanka team near Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
The decision of sending Pakistan team to India would be made soon and it is likely that Shahid Afridi’s men would leave for Kolkata tonight for the ICC T20 World Cup 2016. “They should not be anxious about security”, said Thakur, who is also a member of parliament representing India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team.
All the controversy surrounding Pakistan’s participation in the mega event was laid to rest after it was announced that the team will finally arrive at Kolkata tomorrow.
“We want cricket to remain separate from politics”.
The chief minister has also given necessary instructions to the law enforcement authorities for smooth conduct of the match at Eden Gardens, the officials said. “The general practice is that a security blueprint is drawn for every team by the experts of the ICC in consultation with the local board”.
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.
Indian State Minister for Home Kiren Rajiju had also said that the government was ready to provide additional security to the Pakistan team.
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The Pakistan team had been due to fly out on Wednesday but the government put their departure on hold, citing the threat posed by Hindu extremists who disrupted a meeting between the heads of the two cricket boards held in India a year ago.
