Will dig Dharamsala pitch if Pakistan play India: Anti-Terrorist Front of India

ATF president Shandilya thinks match will show disrespect towards martyrs of Pathankot and Pampore

After the Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif asked Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali on Friday to send a team to India to assess the security situation for the World T20, the Anti-Terrorist Front (ATF) of India has threatened to dig up the pitch at Dharamsala if the match materialised.

The ATF demanded that the Pakistan team should not be allowed to play against India on March 19 otherwise they would dig the pitch in protest of the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium.



"If the Pakistan team comes to Dharamsala to play against Indian cricket team, we will dig the pitch in HPCA stadium," said Virender Shandilya, the national president of ATF of India. "There is a high risk that Pakistani terrorists can enter the area during the match and if Himachal Pradesh government allows the tie, it will be the disrespect towards the martyrs of Pathankot and Pampore," he further claimed.

Shandilya said he will meet state chief minister Virbhadra Singh to discuss the issue and has also written letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in this regard.



"We will protest against this match in Dharamshala in a big way in the coming days," said Shandilya.

The World T20 will take place from March 8 to April 3 where ten teams will participate.

Earlier on March 2, the interior minister expressed concerns over Indian response on the security and linked the team’s tour with assurance for the same.



On February 29, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said they had conveyed concerns regarding team’s security to the ICC.

India’s Himachal Pardesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh refused to provide security to the team. He suggested the match to be played on March 19 shall be moved from Dharamsala to another venue or cancelled.

Virender Shandilya was quoted by Press Trust of India