Abbottabad removed as series venue

Afghanistan will play series-opener in Islamabad.

LAHORE:

Two days after confirming there were no security issues related to the series-finale between Afghanistan and Pakistan ‘A’ being held in Abbottabad, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in a late change of heart, stripped the garrison town of the match and named Islamabad as the replacement.

Afghanistan will become the first cricket nation to visit Pakistan since the Lahore attack in March 2009 when they arrive for a three-match limited-overs series against Pakistan ‘A’. In an earlier itinerary released by the PCB, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad were named as venues for the series despite security issues related to the garrison town after the May 2 killing of Osama bin Laden.

The PCB failed to give any official reason for the move but it was taken after a meeting between PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt and Interior Minister Rehman Malik in Islamabad yesterday. A PCB spokesperson cited logistical issues as the main reason behind the change.

The revised itinerary will now see the series-opener take place in Islamabad on Wednesday followed by the second match in Rawalpindi two days later. The final match of the series, a day-night affair, will take place in Faisalabad on May 29.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2011.