Pakistan are scheduled to fly out to Colombo on Monday, the same day the country’s cricket chief is expected to announce the team’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup, according to a report.
“Despite the uncertainty over participation in the World Cup, the Pakistan team is booked with the Australia team to fly out to Colombo via an Air Lanka flight from Lahore,” sources told Telecom Asia Sport.
“We hope that by Friday, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi will have cleared the team’s participation in the mega event.”
Pakistan’s participation in the tournament has remained under a cloud amid the ongoing dispute between Bangladesh and the ICC over the rescheduling of Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka, a request that was eventually rejected by the ICC, citing no security concerns. Pakistan reportedly supported Bangladesh’s plea and also voted in favour of the proposal.
Naqvi had earlier thrown Pakistan’s participation in the February 7-March 8 T20 World Cup in doubt in protest over Bangladesh’s expulsion from the event. The PCB chief had also stated that a final decision would be taken after consulting the Prime Minister.
On Monday, Naqvi met Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad to seek advice on whether the team should travel for the tournament. Sources told Telecomasia.net that Sharif backed the PCB’s stance in support of Bangladesh but advised against boycotting the World Cup due to potential financial implications.
“Naqvi also took advice from President Asif Zardari and from the military establishment before meeting two former PCB chairmen, Najam Sethi and Ramiz Raja, who were also in support of sending the team to Sri Lanka. They have also advised not to boycott the India game,” the report quoted sources as saying.
Pakistan are also set to face Australia in a three-match T20I series beginning at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Thursday.
“All the players have been told that they must remain in a positive mood as far as participation in the World Cup is concerned. Some of the players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have brought all their luggage from home, keeping in mind that they will be out of the country for more than a month,” the report added.