August 17, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 14, 1429

DUBAI, Aug 16: The General Manager of International Cricket Council (ICC), Dave Richardson, said on Saturday that the venue for the upcoming Champions Trophy would possibly be shifted to Sri Lanka from Pakistan on the registration of reservations from four leading nations.

“The ICC taskforce needs to report back to the ICC, they need to take on the advice that they’re picking up, not only from feedback they’re getting from Australia, but also from New Zealand and England and South Africa and other parts of the world.” Richardson maintained.

ICC general manager Dave Richardson told a meeting that their advice was that the event would be safe in Pakistan but said shifting the tournament to Sri Lanka was an option if four leading teams refused to play in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Friday advised its citizens “to reconsider to travel to Sri Lanka”.

“We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Sri Lanka at this time because of the very high risk of politically motivated violence.

“Attacks in Colombo have become more frequent and have killed many civilians.

“Further attacks can happen at any time, anywhere in Sri Lanka. Australians could inadvertently become victims of violence directed at others,” the instruction has said.

“Conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has escalated since January 2008.

“You should exercise extreme caution, maintain high personal security awareness and avoid military and government locations as these have been the most common targets,” it further said.—Agencies