India-Pakistan match to go ahead as scheduled, says World Twenty20 Tournament Director

MV Sridhar, Tournament Director of the 2016 World Twenty20 tournament to be held in India, said that the group match between India and Pakistan scheduled to be held at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Cricket Stadium in Dharamsala on March 19, will go ahead as planned, IBN Live reports.

The highly-anticipated clash between the Asian heavyweights had run into trouble after the state government wrote to the Home Ministry stating that they would not be able to provide the required security cover for a match of such immense proportion.

Despite assurances from the central government that foolproof security will be provided for the cricketers and statements from senior BCCI officials such as Rajiv Shukla and Anurag Thakur stating that the match will go ahead as scheduled, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sherif formed a three-member team to assess the security arrangements in and around the venue.

‘The match is on’

The team, comprising the director of the Federal Investigation Agency and a Pakistan Cricket Board member, crossed the Wagah-Attari joint check post (JCP) between both countries on foot on Monday before heading for Dharamsala, nearly 235 km from Attari. They were joined by an official from the Pakistan High Commission in India and held discussions with Himachal Pradesh CM Virbadhra Singh as well as other leading administrative and political figures in the state.

Sridhar, a former first-class cricketer himself and current General Manager of Cricket Operations of the BCCI, had held discussions earlier in the day with officials from the Home Ministry and though he admitted that there were some issues that needed to be sorted out, he expressed confidence that the match will go ahead without any issues.

“The match is on. The state and central governments are on board and all security arrangements have been made," he said after the meeting with M K Singla, Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, IPL anti-corruption and security unit head and former Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and a few other BCCI officials.

According to Singla, the Pakistan delegation expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements made at the venue as well as in the surrounding areas, including hotels where the Pakistan cricket team is likely to be put up. He also added that Kangra District Magistrate and local Inspector General of Police has also assured full protection to prevent any unruly incident.