Thus, after obtaining permission from the government to play the World T20 in India, it seems as though the Board of Control for Cricket in India has finally acquiesced to the demands of the PCB in moving the fixture to the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. “Under the prevailing circumstances how can we allow our team to play there?”
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Meanwhile, reports emerged on Thursday afternoon that Pakistani team will fly out for India on Friday, as they were likely to get approval from their government.
According to the top source, the assurance extended by the Narendra Modi government is “general in nature”, which covers all 16 teams featuring in the qualifying and main rounds of the World T20.
Pakistan welcomed the move but sought more security guarantees before sending its team to India. The PCB official said the security team was concerned about the safety of Pakistan players in the hill city in Himachal Pradesh state. He 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.
Outside of global tournaments, cricket matches between India and Pakistan have been suspended since gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in a three-day rampage in 2008, which India blames on a Pakistani militant group.
“I want to say this very clearly to Pakistan that teams from all across the world are coming to India and we have also shifted the match to Kolkata”, Thakur told ANI. “We are meeting on March 10 to discuss the issue again”, Mankotia said.
The ICC official said the organisers were still awaiting an absolute assurance from Pakistan of their participation in the sixth edition of the tournament. We are responsible for the security of teams. Under the veteran leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni they have won 10 of their 11 T20 matches in 2016 and surged through the Asia Cup, winning all four group matches and then the final against hosts Bangladesh to take the trophy.
“I would like to confirm that the ICC has been assured by all relevant state authorities that all adequate security measure are in place and will be implemented to ensure that the event is staged in a safe and secure environment for all stakeholders”, he said.
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It said that “the responsibility of making alternative arrangements for those fans – especially Pakistani – who had already made ticket purchases and hotel reservations also fall on BCCI ” .
