Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has cleared the national cricket team, led by Shahid Afridi, to travel toIndia for the ICC World Twenty20. A possible pullout was off the cards after the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Friday approved Pakistan’s participation in the mega event. The Pakistan government had earlier said its men and women’s teams would travel to Indiaonly after New Delhi gave a public guarantee on the safety of players. Najam Sethi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) executive committee, met Interior Minister Nisar Khan yesterday and later informed the media in Islamabad that the government had received ‘solid assurances’ from India.

Addressing a press conference here at Gaddafi Stadium, PCB chairman said the Interior Minister had given permission to send the Pakistan cricket team to play the Twenty20 on the basis of solid assurances received from the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the Indian Home Secretary. Shaharyar said the players were given the pullout option if they felt any security threat but all 15 squad members wanted to play in the tournament. “But none of the players accepted this option and all of them made it clear they want to go to India to play in the World T20. We want cricketing ties to remain active. Our hope is that our cricketing relations with remain intact,” Shaharyar added. He said hosts India had addressed the concerns about the safety and security of Pakistanplayers.