New Delhi: Pakistan will fly out to Colombo on Monday by when the country’s cricket chief will have announced team’s participation in the Twenty20 World Cup, said a report
“Despite the uncertainty over the participation on the World Cup, Pakistan team is booked with Australia team to fly out to Colombo via Air Lanka flight from Lahore,” sources told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net).
“We hope that by Friday the PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi will have cleared the team’s participation in the mega event.”
Naqvi threw Pakistan team’s participation in the February 7- March 8 Twenty20 World Cup in doubt in protest over Bangladesh’s expulsion from the event.
The International Cricket Council had rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board’s request to move their matches from India to Sri Lanka over security fears.
On Monday, Naqvi met Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif in Islamabad to get his advice on sending the team or not.
Sources told Telecomasia.net that PM Sharif backed PCB’s stance to support Bangladesh but advised them to not boycott the World Cup to avoid any financial implications.
“Naqvi also took advice from President Asif Zardari and from 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 advices not to boycott the India game,” the report quoted sources as telling www.telecomasia.net.
Pakistan is also taking on Australia in a three-match T20I series starting in Lahore from Thursday.
“All the players have been told that they must remain in positive mood as far as participation in the World Cup is concerned. Some of the players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa habe brought all their luggage from home keeping in mind that they will be out of the country for more than a month.”
(IANS)
