Mani says T20 World Cup to be held in UAE

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani Friday said that the ICC T20 World Cup would now be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) instead of India because of the worst Covid-19 situation there.

Talking to media following the meeting of the Ministry for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), the PCB chairman said that the ICC is taking the T20 World Cup to the UAE.

“The ICC T20 World Cup, which was supposed to be held in India, is now going to the UAE. India is forced to hold the remaining IPL 2021 matches in UAE also. As such Pakistan had no other choice but to shift the venue of the remaining PSL matches in Abu Dhabi. We had two options, either to cancel the remaining matches or look for a possible venue during the period when we have no other international commitments. This is the best time for us and we have decided to hold it in Abu Dhabi.”

Mani added that the whole cricketing schedule around the world had been under pressure.

“It is not easy to organise cricket matches these days. All the cricket boards are making adjustments and PCB has not done anything new.”

The PCB chairman said the safety and security of all those involved in such national and international commitments should be the top priority.

“We cannot take any risk. It is the safety and security of the players and officials that should be our top priority.”

When questioned about the detailed outcome of the last ICC meeting, he said he was not in a position to share the details with the media.

Earlier, the PCB chairman again came under criticism from the NA committee as yet again he refused to share details of the salaries especially of PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan with the House. However, he said he could do that in an in-camera meeting.

“Is it a state secret? It must be shared in the open. The PCB should not be ashamed of sharing salaries details with the committee that comprises respectable parliamentarians,” Standing Committee’s member Iqbal Mohammad Ali said.

He added that he was not satisfied with the PCB chairman’s clarifications.

“Even the prime minister’s salary is an open secret. Salaries of all the PCB employees including Wasim Khan should be declared. There should be no covering up or in-camera request.”

Iqbal also urged the Ministry for IPC to discuss the proposed sports policy in open rather sharing it with the selected individuals.

“It must be discussed in open as the future of Pakistan sports depends on it. The policy must be discussed in the committee’s meeting rather with the selected federations. Every recognized sports federation must be taken into confidence.”

Secretary IPC Mohsin Mushtaq briefed the House on the Olympics plans. “With the help of the concerned, every plan is in order for the mega event where a selected Pakistan contingent will participate.”