August 09, 2008	Saturday	Sha’aban 6, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: The ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have, in principle, decided to drop the Rawalpindi cricket stadium as one of the venues for the Champions Trophy next month, reliable sources in the PCB said on Friday.

The decision of digging out the Pindi Stadium ground just 12 days ago had already

diminished the chances of holding the five matches at the stadium and sources in the PCB said on Friday that due to the slow pace of construction work, it has been more or less confirmed that the

15 matches of the tournament will be held in Lahore and Karachi.

“Lahore is likely to host eight games including the final while Karachi will host seven matches and the ICC and PCB are working on the revised schedule for the tournament,” disclosed a source close to PCB.

“Not only was the pace of construction slow at the stadium but the ICC security consultants also raised some issues with the location of the venue which could cause security problems in view of the fact that it is in the middle of a clustered residential and commercial area,” the source said.

He said a definite announcement about dropping the Pindi stadium as a venue would be made after the visit of the ICC task force to Pakistan from Aug 10 to 12.

“The ICC has to be handed over the stadium at least two to three weeks before the tournament so that their curator can start preparing the pitches while their broadcasters and sponsors can start installing their products and technology,” the source added.

“Although the company carrying out the construction work at the stadium says it would be 80 per cent complete by August 20, the PCB feels this might not be possible.”

He said ICC chief curator Andy Atkinson has been told to start preparing five pitches each at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and National Stadium in Karachi.

“The security consultants also noted the close proximity of the city to areas where the security forces are engaged in a battle with militants and also the recent spate of bomb attacks in Islamabad and Pindi,” the source said.

He said Faisalabad was discussed as an alternate venue but the idea has been dropped due to various reasons.

The PCB had also started construction work on Gaddafi Stadium’s College End where the work is also going on snail pace.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has allocated a huge fund of Rs400 million for the two projects.