Kolkata: The head of the ICC Special Task Force, Giles Clarke paid a visit to Lahore on the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to inspect security arrangements that could be put in place for the visiting teams. He hailed the efforts of the terror affected nation to improve security around cricketing events but also stated that the level of caution among the security officials should always be at their highest level.
Clarke who was on a two-day tour to Lahore, met the Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, PCB officials and other security experts on Saturday. After the meeting, he met the press with the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan. Clarke said “I feel sad and can understand how the Pakistani people feel. But I am also hopeful that with the security situation in Pakistan improving, the day is not far off when the Pakistani people will be able to see their team play against overseas sides at home.”
Clarke who was the former head of England and Wales Cricket Board, seemed to be very impressed with the way the security arrangements were demonstrated. “Pakistan is an important member of the ICC and we want to see international cricket in the country. We are doing whatever we can in this direction” The land of pureness hasn’t hosted any major cricket event since 2009, the same year in which the Sri Lankan team bus was targeted and attacked by terrorists in Lahore. This incident led to the loss of 6 Pakistani Policemen and led to the injury of one umpire and a player,” he said.
Yes, in 2015 Zimbabwe did tour Pakistan for a limited over series but apart from that, no major cricket matches have been played in the nation for almost 8 years. Recently, West Indies also refused to tour Pakistan for two T20 Internationals in March, citing refusal from players over security fears. Clarke tackled this issue by saying that he would request the West Indies Cricket Board to send the team to play the scheduled match. He further went on to assure that the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) would take place in Lahore, whether or not the international players travelled to Pakistan as it’s their own ‘domestic competition’. He said, “I understand that desire and, and will support their (PCB) efforts to do that.”
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) recently released a statement saying, “An acceptable level of participant safety and security cannot be expected or guaranteed in Pakistan.” To this, Clarke said that he would discuss the issue with the federation and assure them that the PCB was ready to demonstrate the level of security and safety for the visitors to them. He acknowledged that it was not an easy road to convince the ICC to let Pakistan host matches in its own nation instead of neutral venues, but assured that he would definitely support the PCB and its efforts to do so.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and ESPN)