International cricket chiefs are set to delay the start of next month’s Champions Trophy by one day and are likely to scrap one of the three venues following security advice.
The eight-team tournament was scheduled to start on Sept. 11, the anniversary of the attacks in the US in 2001. It is now likely to start the following day.
Rawalpindi, which adjoins the capital, Islamabad, is likely to be dropped as a venue, which would leave all the trophy matches to be played in the southern port city of Karachi and the eastern cultural capital of Lahore. The announcements were made after an International Cricket Council (ICC) taskforce visited Islamabad and Lahore to assess security arrangements for the event.
“There was advice that we received from the security consultants that it might be better not to start the competition from the 11th and move to the 12th,” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said.
“It is a strong possibility that we will reduce the Champions Trophy to two venues, but the event will be played in Pakistan,” he said, referring to the likelihood of Rawalpindi being dropped.
Lorgat is leading a high-profile six-man ICC taskforce which is in Pakistan to oversee security arrangements.
The delegation also includes Tim May, a former Australian off-spinner who is now the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).
The ICC last month decided to keep the biennial event in Pakistan despite security concerns raised by players from Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa. The players associations of these countries and FICA had called for a relocation of the trophy over player safety following a series of suicide bombings in Pakistan.
Lorgat said it would be a great challenge to convince the players who are reluctant to tour Pakistan.
“I am quite impressed with the level of security in place. It is another matter to satisfy and improve the confidence of key players,” he said.
Lorgat said the taskforce will visit Australia, New Zealand and England in an attempt to convince the players to tour Pakistan.
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