ICC refuses claims of Pakistan playing their World Cup matches in Bangladesh: Report

Earlier,
reports
surfaced
that
ICC
officials
discussed
the
possibility
of
Pakistan
playing
their
league
games
in
Bangladesh
during
a
recent
board
meeting
in
Dubai.
However,
an
ICC
official
refused
the
claim,
calling
it
a
‘figment
of
imagination’.
The
source
also
refused
to
acknowledge
if
PCB
and
Bangladesh
Cricket
Board
had
an
informal
discussion.

“No
one
knows
if
PCB
chief
Mr
Najam
Sethi
has
had
any
informal
discussion
with
his
Bangladeshi
counterpart
Najmul
Hasan
Papon
but
this
can
be
said
with
a
degree
of
certainty
that
no
such
discussions
happened
officially
that
Pakistan
will
play
in
Bangladesh,”
an
ICC
source
told
the
news
agency.

The
source
did
point
out
that
procurement
of
visas
was
an
issue
that
was
discussed
and,
contrary
to
conjectures
made
from
the
PCB’s
part,
the
Indian
cricket
board
has
assured
of
all
assistance.

“The
BCCI
has
categorically
said
that
there
will
be
no
problems
with
procurement
of
visas.
One
of
the
main
points
for
a
host
country
is
that
all
participating
nations
will
be
given
visas
on
time.
From
ICC’s
part,
Bangladesh
is
not
even
in
its
scheme
of
things
as
a
co-host
as
of
now,”
the
source
said.

PCB,
under
their
former
chief
Ramiz
Raja,
earlier
threatened
to
pull
its
national
team
out
of
the
ICC
World
Cup
in
India
after
Jay
Shah-led
Asian
Cricket
Council
announced
the
decision
to
move
the
Asia
Cup
out
of
Pakistan,
who
were
earlier
granted
the
hosting
rights.

Current
PCB
chief
Sethi
has
loosened
his
stance
on
the
matter
and
has
been
making
his
effort
to
find
a
solution
that
pleases
both
the
parties,
including
the
possibility
of
India
playing
their
matches
at
a
neutral
venue.

With
inputs
from
PTI