
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a high-level executive committee to decide on the national team’s participation in the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. The high-level committee is headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto and will soon submit a report to the PM on whether the situation is safe for the national team to participate in the ODI World Cup or not.
As things stand, the committee headed by Bilawal Bhutto consists of Sports Minister Ahsan Mazari, Maryam Aurangzeb, Asad Mahmood, Amin ul Haq, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and former diplomat Tariq Fatmi. They will review the situation in the coming days as a high-level security delegation will travel to India to inspect the venues and other key elements during the World Cup. Once the report is finalised, it will be submitted to the PM, who also acts as the patron-in-chief of the PCB.
On the flip side, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have finalised the programme for the World Cup after the schedule was made public on Tuesday, June 27. None of Pakistan’s demands were met when the schedule was released as the board demanded not to play Afghanistan in Chennai and Australia in Bangalore.
As things stand, Pakistan is yet to finalise its participation in the tournament as they have conveyed that no stand will be taken by the board until the government gives its clearance.
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On the other hand, the PCB has been going through the turmoil of events with the elections to get the next chairman of the board yet again postponed indefinitely. Currently, a new management committee has been formed by the order of the PM and has been headed by Zaka Ashraf, the likely next chairman of the PCB.
Ashraf will travel to Durban in the coming hours to participate in an ICC board meeting, where he is likely to open on Pakistan’s stand on whether to participate in the ODI World Cup or not.
According to the current schedule, the ODI World Cup will start on October 5 with the opening clash between England and New Zealand. Pakistan will open their campaign against one of the qualifier teams on October 6 with them playing India on Sunday, October 15.
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