Indo-Pak World T20 clash shifted to Kolkata

A day after the BCCI stated that the India-Pakistan World T20 match would be held in Dharamsala, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday shifted the venue to Kolkata.

The decision to relocate the match appears to have been made following Pakistan’s letter to the ICC, requesting for a change of venue. “A decision has been taken to relocate the India-Pakistan match from Dharamsala to Kolkata due to security reasons. The match will be played at the same time and date (March 19, 7:30pm),” said ICC chief executive officer Dave Richardson in New Delhi.

Richardson also made it clear that if Pakistan enters the semi-finals, they will not play in Mumbai, which is scheduled to host one semi-final.

On Tuesday, tournament director M V Sridhar had declared that the “match was on” following his meeting with Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, M K Singla, and assurances from the state government.

But in a sudden turn of events, the ICC shifted the match to Eden Gardens where Pakistan will be based for the initial stages of the event. The high-profile match between the arch-rivals ran into rough weather after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh expressed his government’s inability to provide security, while the kin of martyred Indian soldiers, too, opposed it.

The twin obstacles had prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board to send a three-member delegation to assess the security situation. “Concerns initially arose following ‘alleged’ public comments reported by the chief minister warning of demonstration and attempts to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the match. Our concerns relate both to uncertainty as to the level of those threats as well as the level of commitment to implement any security plan developed to mitigate such threats,” said Richardson.