The Pakistan Cricket Board has no intimation on whether ICC will be sending its task team to analyse the security situation in the country or not.
“We are aware of any such developments at this point of time. But if the ICC plans to send its task team here, they are welcome,” a senior PCB official was quoted as saying by PTI.
The report of the ICC Task Team on Pakistan has led to widespread criticism from the cricket community with the PCB also sending a terse response to the report to the ICC.
The PCB in its observations to the ICC report has raised the point that the entire report was prepared without the PTT ever visiting Pakistan except for a brief visit by ICC official Dave Richardson to Karachi.
The PCB has said that this raises serious questions on the observations given in the report. The Guardian had reported that the PCB criticism had stung the ICC and that the Chairman of the England and Wales cricket board, Giles Clarke who also heads the PTT and ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat could visit Pakistan soon. Interestingly, Lorgat has been a regular visitor to Pakistan – his last trip was just before the World Twenty20 in 2010. The PCB official confirmed that the board was waiting for Chairman, Ijaz Butt to return from abroad next week before a strategy is finalized on how to deal with the PTT report and suggestions specifically the one pertaining to eliminating the involvement of politicians and government in cricket affairs.
“Butt will decide when to brief the government about the situation with the ICC,” he added. The official said that the PCB had no intentions of any confrontation with the sports world governing body which had been very supportive in the last two years when foreign teams were not visiting Pakistan because of the security situation in the country.
“We had good relations with the ICC and other boards but at the same time we have to operate according to our cricket environment and requirements and we are also looking at the PTT report in that manner,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Chairman of the PCB, Lt General Tauqir Zia has criticized the PTT report and also held former captain, Ramiz Raja responsible for the observations made in it. “The way I see this situation developing to me Haroon Lorgat appears to be someone who is not clear on many things because they are contradictions in his statements on Pakistan cricket and other issues,” Zia said.
