KARACHI, Oct 5: The cricket stadiums of Hyderabad (Niaz Stadium), Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Sukkur and Bahawalpur are being taken off the list of venues, where international matches, Tests and One-day Internationals can be scheduled, even though the grounds and pitches are of high standards, as the cities lack four or five-star hotels, which is vital according to International Cricket Council’s requirements.

This was revealed in a letter written by PCB chief, Shaharyar M. Khan to Aqil Lodhi, President Lawyer Committee for Human Rights in response of his (Aqil’s) letter in which he had requested the PCB chief to hold international matches in Hyderabad and other cities of interior Sindh.

The PCB chairman said in his letter that the 4-star hotel must have a swimming pool and a Gym, as a minimum facility, according to the ICC rules and added that the information contained in Aqil’s letter was not accurate as Multan has a four-star hotel (Holiday Inn) with a pool and gymnasium.

He said that the hotel in Multan was inspected and approved by ICC officials and added that no recent international matches has been scheduled in Gujranwala, while Faisalabad has a five star hotel.

He said that as he stated earlier to the press in Hyderabad, a large chain of 5-star hotels is ready to build a hotel in nine months, if it can be allowed to purchase suitable land.

The PCB chief was quite optimistic that if a hotel was built in Hyderabad according to the ICC requirements then Niaz Stadium, which had hosted a number of international matches in the past would be revived as a regular Test and one-day centre.—PPI