March 17, 2006	Friday	Safar 16, 1427

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LAHORE, March 16: A joint bid by the four Asian Test-playing countries to host the 2011 World Cup will be submitted to the ICC on Friday. The PCB Operations Director, Saleem Altaf, told Dawn on Thursday that the BCCI informed him that all paperwork for the bid had been finalised.

Saleem said that it was a wrong impression that the Asian countries were progressing slowly toward finalising the bid.

He said the ICC had decided in its meeting held on Oct 11, 2005, that every third World Cup would be staged in Asia. It was turn of this continent now, he said.

The PCB official said the ICC would make a final decision in July this year.

Asked if the legal process in India would again create problems in distributing the amount of income of the World Cup like it happened in 1996, he said that income distribution was not a big problem.

Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka hosted the mega event in 1996 with India being the main host.

But due to some legal hindrances, income of that World Cup is yet to be distributed among the three countries.

Saleem said that India could not host the World Cup without the help of Pakistan or Sri Lanka.