BCCI in venue fix for Pakistan-India World T20 tie

Himachal Pradesh state asks board to cancel match or change venue

After the government allowed Shahid Afridi and co to visit India for the World T20, the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday expressed its inability to provide security for the March 19 Pakistan-India match, leaving the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in a fix.

However, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday that the state should avoid ‘playing politics’.



“The venues of the World Cup matches were decided one year ago while the allotment of matches was decided six months ago,” said Thakur. “People all over have made bookings and it is not fair to give such statements at the last minute.”

Thakur, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party MP, added: “Congress-led state government is clearly playing politics. Hundreds of Pakistani athletes were given security during the South Asian Games in Assam, why can't the Himachal government do the same?"



The much-awaited clash game is to be played in Dharamsala but its fate is now uncertain after Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh wrote to the Home Ministry stating that the state cannot provide security for the match and Thakur thinks it will tarnish the country’s image.

“By claiming that you cannot provide security, you are only giving credence to Pakistani claims that there is a security threat to their team in India. It's about the country's image, you cannot play politics over it," he said.



The Himachal Pradesh Congress requested the BCCI to switch the venue of the match or cancel it completely. They maintained that their Kargil war veterans lived in Kangra and hosting Pakistan there will hurt their sentiments.

Anurag Thakur was quoted by the Press Trust of India