New Delhi: The marquee World Twenty20 clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan was on Wednesday shifted to Kolkata from Dharamsala in view of security concerns, putting an end to the uncertainty over the fate of the match.
The decision to relocate the match to the iconic Eden Gardens was taken by the ICC. It came on the heels of hectic parleys and visit by a Pakistan delegation which had inspected the arrangements at Dharamsala.
The security concerns stemmed from the alleged public comments of the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh warning of demonstrations and possible attempts to disrupt the match. The comments had put a question mark over the level of commitment to mitigate such threats.
The match was almost in jeopardy after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed its inability to provide security for the match, leaving the BCCI in a bind. Sources attribute the stand of the state government to the Chief Minister’s running feud with BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur who is also from Himachal and wanted to showcase the match for his local BJP constituency.
The Pakistan Board had on Tuesday written to the ICC asking it to consider an alternative venue for the marquee match. They had proposed Kolkata or Mohali as a replacement for Dharamsala.
Fuming Thakur says HP govt gave state, country bad name Thakur on Wednesday lashed out at the Virbhadra government saying they had tarnished the image of the state by forcing the marquee match out of Dharamsala. ‘‘All I can say is that the negative atmosphere created by the ruling party doesn’t go well with the fans, sponsors and the country as a host. For them it is family first, party next and the nation comes last,’’ a livid Thakur told presspersons.
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PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has welcomed ICC’s decision to shift the venue to Kolkata but kept the Pakistan team’s departure on hold awaiting an assurance from the Indian government.
