News Desk |
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has confirmed that International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson will be arriving in Karachi to watch the matches of Pakistan Super League.
“ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson is coming to Pakistan alongside security experts of Bangladesh cricket and Cricket Australia,” announced Mani.
Chairman Shashank Manohar has refused to visit Karachi to witness the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final on March 17.
To review the security for PSL matches, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Ehsan Mani in a meeting discussed final arrangements made for Pakistan matches starting from March 9 to 17 in the city.
Speaking to media at the National Stadium Karachi on Thursday 7th March, the Chairman said, “Manohar (ICC Chairman) has declined the invitation to watch the finale of the tournament citing personal engagements. Earlier, the PCB had invited all ICC board members, including Indian counterparts to watch the final in the megacity.”
The main motive to invite senior officials from other boards is so that they can witness the security situation in the country themselves. The board is expecting a visit of officials from Afghanistan, England, Ireland, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Furthermore, he said, “Karachi should be proud to host eight matches of the tournament. The success of PSL in Karachi will change the thoughts of people around the world that Pakistan is safe for sports,” the Chairman said. Commenting on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrival in Karachi, he said, “It is too early to say anything about it.”
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To review the security for PSL matches, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Ehsan Mani in a meeting discussed final arrangements made for Pakistan matches starting from March 9 to 17 in the city.
“There will be foolproof security arrangements for the players and matches in the city and I am sure next time you will bring all PSL matches to Karachi,” Murad said and added he had constituted a committee with Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani as chairman, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir, and Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shallwani as its members.
The Chief Minister said that the committee has worked day and night to make all the arrangements right from carpeting of the roads, improvement of the drainage system, provision of water, security plan, arrangements at the stadium and finalizing routes from the airport to hotels and hotels to the stadium. “Your [PCB] team also worked with the committee and now everything is up to the mark,” he said.
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The meeting was attended by Saeed Ghani, Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab, Kazi Kabir and Iftikhar Shahlwani. The others with the PCB chairman were Sr General Manager National Stadium Arshad Khan and Director International Cricket Operation Zakir Khan.