Dubai, June 26 (Inditop.com) The International Cricket Council (ICC) said Friday the 2011 World Cup cricket matches taken away from Pakistan would be held by other co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s offer of holding the 14 matches at a neutral venue like the United Arab Emirates has thus been rejected by the ICC, which had stripped the strife-torn country of the hosting rights after the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore.
The governing body’s commercial arm, ICC Development International (IDI) after its meeting Thursday reaffirmed the decision that Pakistan would no longer be a host for the tournament and that Lahore would be removed as the tournament’s administrative headquarters.
“The IDI board considered the issue of the 14 matches originally allocated to Pakistan. It asked the Central Organising Committee (COC) to meet and provide it with a recommendation as to where, within Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, those matches should be staged,” Morgan said in a statement.
The COC has been asked to report back to the IDI board as soon as possible with a recommendation.
The meeting also heard that the PCB had accepted the ICC board’s offer, made at its meeting in Perth in January-February, of a task team to help ensure Pakistan retain their position in international cricket.
The task team will be led by ICC Director Giles Clarke, the Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and include David Richardson, the ICC General Manager – Cricket.
“We are delighted the PCB has accepted the ICC’s offer of assistance as we seek to ensure Pakistan is not isolated as a result of circumstances beyond the control of its cricket administrators.
