July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

MUMBAI, July 23: The Indian cricket board (BCCI), throwing its weight behind Pakistan as the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy, on Wednesday made it clear that they had no problems in playing the event in the neighbouring country.

BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said he saw no problems in having the event in Pakistan in September on schedule although some boards had security and safety concerns about sending their teams for the tournament.

“I don’t think the concerns of some teams are valid because the ICC security consultants have also made a positive report. So we don’t find any problems playing there,” Shah told a local television channel.

He said the Indian Board had never raised questions about the Champions Trophy venue and pointed out that their team had just played the Asia Cup in Karachi and were totally satisfied with the cricketing environment there.

“We didn’t find any problems playing there. We have never raised any question about the security in Pakistan for the tournament. We support having the event in Pakistan,” he added.—Agencies